Shooting in Savannah continues for the USA Network’s “Royal Pains” TV series.
On Monday morning, film crews were spotted at Daffin Park’s historic Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Sand Gnats minor league baseball team. Except the hometown team wasn’t playing.
Fictional teams took the field for shooting for the show. A release for a casting call issued a few weeks ago had expressed interest for young male baseball players and experienced massage therapists, as well as extras between the ages of 18 and 50s.
About 300 extras were being used on Monday, said a person working on the production. In all, the show is using 600 local extras before shooting ends Thursday, he said as lunch was being prepared on the set.
The number of crew members working on the production here would match those of a feature film, the show’s staff member said.
According to the “Royal Pains” website, the series follows a young New York physician (Mark Feuerstein) who moves to the Hamptons following a patient’s death. He’s joined in the exclusive community by his brother (Paulo Costanzo) and the two work to balance treating the wealthy and less well-off locals.
The show, which premiered in 2009, announced that it has been picked up for two additional seasons. Season five begins this summer.
On Saturday, the Savannah Film Office posted a Facebook message welcoming the “Royal Pains” cast and crew to Savannah and Tybee Island, and congratulated a local crew working on the production. The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office posted a photo on Twitter that showed shooting in Monterey Square last Friday.
In 2012, Savannah set a record for film production, according to a Savannah Film Commission report.
The Savannah Film Office worked with 242 separate projects last year, spanning 715 days. The total economic impact to Savannah was $26 million, which includes $12.2 million in direct spending, according to the report.