Animal Kingdom Comes to Oceanside.

Hollywood has once again made it’s way South and has chosen Oceanside, California as it’s main filming location for a new and exciting television drama series, Animal Kingdom.

Oceanside has been depicted in many different Hollywood projects such as Top Gun, Bring It On, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Outsider, Battle Cry and Flying Leathernecks. And now, Oceanside is being used as the main filming location for TNT’s newest highly anticipated drama series, Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom is a bold new drama about a 17-year old boy, whom, after his mother’s tragic death, moves in with freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town and soon learns that they all make their livings through criminal activities. This dangerously, exciting fictional drama stars Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Finn Cole, Ben Robson, Jake Weary and Daniella Alonso.

The show has been filming around town this week at a variety of iconic locations including the Oceanside Pier and along The Strand. Local businesses, including surf shops and restaurants, will also be featured in the show. The cast and crew will return to Oceanside in June to continue filming.

You may have heard about the casting call for extras that took place at the beginning of April, which brought in over 600 hopefuls to downtown Oceanside to audition.

The following is excerpted from the San Diego Union Tribute article ‘Animal Kingdom’ crime drama begins shooting in O’side” by Edward Sifuentes

Oceanside may not get top billing on the show, but it’s a big part of the narrative, said Llewellyn Wells, an “Animal Kingdom” producer who was overseeing filming this week in the city. “While we’re here, we’re shooting at a lot of locations that really show Oceanside in the story,” Wells said. “This is just an amazing location. It’s really unique.” Cast and crew are working at several locations around town, including The Strand, the iconic municipal pier and the Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen. On Monday morning, Wells and the crew were filming a fight scene inside a motorcycle shop at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and South Tremont Street.

Be sure to keep your eye out for the production van (pictured left), which features a nice thank you/appreciation message, thanking the community for allowing this show to be filmed in Oceanside. The show has partnered with the  Friends of Oceanside Parks and Recreation, a non-profit that helps fund local youth scholarships for recreation programs.

It is very exciting that the creators of the show, Warner Bros. Television and TNT have chosen to feature and film in Oceanside. Not only for the fantastic experience and media exposure, but also from an economic standpoint. All together, it is anticipated that spending for the show will gross over $500,000 in Oceanside during the first phase of filming, which takes place for a week in April in addition to a week in June. This includes hotel room nights, dining, activities and more.

The recent expanded funding by the California Film Commission to help keep productions in California contributed to producers looking outside of the traditional Los Angeles footprint and discover Oceanside as an attractive location for their upcoming series.

Season 1 of Animal Kingdom will air June 7th on TNT.