IT is synonymous with northern Europe, with Scotland having one of the highest incidences of it on the planet.
But now casting directors in Spain are on the hunt for red-headed Spanish men to star in a new “Scottish” sci-fi drama series from the creator of Lost.
Filming for the new Warner Brothers series Mrs Davis begins in Catalonia this month, with film crews descending on Girona and Tarragona before production moves to Scotland, France and Italy.
Despite filming for the show taking place in the district of Móra La Nova in Tarragona, local reports suggest that “the scenes are based on Scotland”.
A casting call for the show in Spain confirms that producers are looking for people with diverse profiles, with casting agents particularly keen on finding “red-haired men”.
Spain, surprisingly, has a relatively high number of redheads, with Ryder Cup golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez amongst the most famous.
Plot details are being kept under wraps for the show, although producers Warner Bros.Television have revealed that the series will be “an exploration of faith versus technology – an epic battle of biblical and binary proportions”.
Three-time Emmy nominee Betty Gilpin (GLOW, The Hunt) and Jake McDorman (Dopesick, The Right Stuff) lead a cast that includes David Arquette (Scream), Elizabeth Marvel, Margo Martindale, Andy McQueen and Ben Chaplin.
Gilpin will play a nun who goes to battle against an all-powerful Artificial Intelligence, while McDorman will play Gilpin’s rebellious ex, who also has a personal vendetta against the Algorithm.
The series is reported to be set between the Middle Ages and the present day and will air on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service - who landed the project following what has been described as a “competitive bidding war”.
Mrs Davis marks Lost creator Damon Lindelof’s first project since Watchmen, which walked away with 11 wins at the 2020 Emmy Awards.
Lindelof, who is rumoured to be developing a Star Wars film, is joined as co-writer by Tara Hernandez (Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory) with Owen Harris (Black Mirror: San Junipero) directing multiple episodes of the series, including the first episode.
Speaking about the show, Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, said: “A series like Mrs Davis is exactly why we love making television.
“The brilliant minds of Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof have concocted one of the most innovative, undeniable concepts imaginable.
“We are so thrilled to be going on this wild ride with them.”
Mrs Davis follows in the footsteps of new Star Wars TV show Andor, which saw filming take place last year amid high levels of secrecy in Perthshire and Argyll & Bute at Cruachan Dam and Reservoir in Dalmally and Glen Tilt near Blair Atholl.
While historical romance time-travel series Outlander has been shot at locations throughout Scotland since 2013, such as Culross, Linlithgow, Loch Katrine, Glen Coe and Edinburgh.
Other areas of Scotland also have cameo roles in the likes of The Da Vinci Code and Captain America, while the Cairngorms provided the backdrop for scenes in Skyfall, as well as the daring aeroplane sequence at the beginning of The Dark Knight Rises.
However, it is not only rolling landscapes which draw large-scale productions, with parts of Glasgow city centre transformed into downtown Philadelphia to film the action-packed outbreak scene of zombie-flick World War Z back in 2012.
Shots for Fast and Furious 6 were captured on Cadogan Street and Broomielaw several years ago, while much of Cloud Atlas was filmed in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Fife.
Filming across the country is said to bring millions into the Scottish economy, with reports saying it generated £45.2 million in 2015.
In 2021, in Glasgow alone, a record £42.4m was generated for the local economy off the back of film and TV productions shooting across the city.
Productions filmed recently in Scotland include Batgirl, The Batman, Tetris and the fifth Indiana Jones, plus Amazon’s Prime Video series The Rig, Anansi Boys and the second season of Good Omens.
Earlier this year at the Glasgow Film Festival director Douglas Mackinnon revealed he was talking to Amazon about backing two “very small” films set in Scotland.“We’re twisting their arm,” he said.
“We said, ‘If you want more Good Omens, you have to make these films’. We have now got a bit of power, we’re trying to use it responsibly and feed it back into other projects.”
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