‘Chesapeake Shores’ is set to return to film its fifth season in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
The series is one of the most-watched original series on the Hallmark Channel and has contributed significantly to the area’s economy. The series hires a large percentage of their crew locally and puts dollars back into the regional economy.
“Having a television series coming back consistently year after year is probably like winning the lottery,” said Vancouver Island North Film Commission’s Joan Miller. “Especially areas outside of the major film zones like L.A. or Vancouver… they are very engaged in building their crew base to be as much local hire as possible.”
But Miller said it’s more than just direct economic benefits that the series brings. She said the cast and crew of ‘Chesapeake Shores’ talk about the area on social media, which helps with tourism.
“Those are big benefits when you have people who are out through the social media world talking about what a great area it is to live and work in,” she said. “So there’s all these benefits that are far beyond just the impact of a production crew coming in and renting hotels and using services, this is kind of building a more year-round storyline for the region that hosts a show of this size.”
READ MORE: Chesapeake Shores to bring more jobs to Parksville Qualicum Beach
Miller said they’re currently looking for warehouse space in the area, the Vancouver Island Film Studios are currently full, and asks anyone with available warehouse space looking to rent it out to contact them at 250-287-2772.
The series also films in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanaimo and surrounding locations. The exact production dates are yet to be announced.