North Lawndale Studios Contracted To Film Netflix, Amazon Shows

CHICAGO — A 1.45 million-square-foot studio facility on Chicago's West Side — one of the largest film studios in the country — is set to film two upcoming television series. Cinespace Chicago Film Studios has signed contracts with Amazon Studios and Netflix for the upcoming shows "Utopia" and "Mixtape," filmmakers announced.

The West Side studio will film 10 episodes of the romantic musical drama "Mixtape," starring Jenna Dewan, Callie Hernandez and Medline Stowe. The show was originally piloted on Fox, but was not picked up, although it was reported to be an internal favorite. The series looks at the love stories connecting a diverse, disparate group of people in contemporary Los Angeles through the music that lives inside their hearts and minds.

"Mixtape" will begin filming the series ordered by Netflix in February at Cinespace, with most of the original Fox pilot cast to continue.

Cinespace has also inked an agreement with Amazon Studios to film nine episodes of the American adaption of "Utopia," which first aired on Britain’s Channel 4 between 2013 and 2014. The series follows a group of young adults who discover a near-mythical, cult-underground graphic novel. The group is mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization.

Cinespace Chicago Film Studios includes 31 sound stages in the city's North Lawndale neighborhood. With additional studios currently under construction at 31st and Kedzie, Cinespace is the largest film studio outside of California.

Since opening in 2011, the company has helped bring more than 16,000 new jobs to the West Side. The studio created the CineCares Foundation to train and employ area residents through education and job training in television and film. The campus is home to Stage 18 Chicago, an organization and incubator established to retain and grow talent in Chicago.

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