TORONTO – Millions of dollars were injected into Southern Ontario businesses with the local filming of Netflix’s popular show The Umbrella Academy, according to an analysis by Oxford Economics.
The analysis found that the filming of the show’s second season saw local wages and salaries accounting for 59 per cent of production spending and the rest on local goods and services, with a total contribution of $111 million to Ontario’s gross domestic product.
A Motion Picture Association of Canada press release added that, from procurement of props and costumes to transportation and accommodations, the show supported more than 980 Ontario-based businesses. In total, the show’s second season added 1,120 jobs in Ontario, including 620 direct jobs for local artists and technicians.
“Ontario has been an ideal location for shooting several of our projects,” Mark Binke, executive vice president of physical production at Universal Cable Productions, which is producing the show, said in the release. “The province is truly a one-stop-shop, with access to incredible crews, iconic backdrops, world-class infrastructure and a film-friendly business community. Hamilton became our home base for The Umbrella Academy thanks to an incredibly supportive local film office.”
Victoria Harding, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada, added in the release that, “Ontario has steadily become a top destination for the film and television industry, thanks to our robust infrastructure and incredible pool of creative and logistical talent. NBC and Netflix trusted that our innovative and ambitious DGC Ontario Members would deliver on this series, and with 6 Emmy Award nominations, they were absolutely right.”
The show follows the “estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities,” according to a description.
The third season was released on the streaming platform yesterday.
“Assuming that the level and pattern of production spending for Seasons One and Three were similar to Season Two the estimated economic impacts generated over the life of the series could be expected to total roughly three times that from Season Two,” the release said.
Graphic from Motion Picture Association of Canada
