MENIFEE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A quick glance through the sudden fog in Menifee County might lead you to see a host of angels in the distance. The angels, however, are extras in a scene for a TV show.
“Menifee County, a slice of heaven. We’re filming heaven here tonight,” said Dave Siriano, president of EchoTV Studios.
The scenes, filmed at this location, are for the drama series “Gone.” It’s created by EchoTV, which is based out of Florida.
Siriano said, “I was like, ‘You know what, we do so much stuff in Orlando where we're based. Why don't we do something in Kentucky?’”
According to Siriano, they started to have trouble bringing in actors from across the country, and they turned to local volunteers to fill the roles.
“We started bringing all these actors in who weren't really actors and guess what? They were really good, and so we were like, ‘okay, forget it, we're just going to get people from Menefee County.’”
“Gone” is a faith-based show about the end times, and the setting in Menifee County made for the perfect filming location due to the backdrop, and because of the help from the people.
“It’s been nothing but open arms,” Siriano said. “If you look here tonight, this is all done by people in Menefee County for nothing.”
“We love being here,” said script supervisor Jeff Koonce. “The people are wonderful. It's beautiful country. Even setting up the set, there's just some perfect locations.”
Actor Jordan Perrucio added, “the town here like just jumps in to help out. I've never seen that before.”
The heavenly set is for a scene in season 3. Producers have filmed each season in Menifee County, and in this heaven scene, many locals participated, wearing white shirts and playing angels.
“There’s been a lot of buzz throughout the week,” said Carrie Lawson.
“I mean it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” added Debbie Little.
Both Lawson and Little work for the Menifee County Tourism board, and they helped to get the word out to the community.
“Everyone here is so excited to be a part of this because they're going to say ‘I've been on TV,’” said Mallory Cooper, a student in Jobs for America’s Graduates at Menifee County.
Cooper shared that she was able to help out with the production process, and she even had a small role in the show, highlighting how filming in the county is opening doors for locals to learn about the film industry.
“I mean I've done like a little bit of theater like when I was a lot younger and but now it feels possible,” she said. “Before it was kind of like, well I'm just from Menifee County so I can't really go into that kind of thing, but now I see all this happening here and I'm like, wait I can do that when I'm older.”
The cameras have stopped rolling and the angels have dispersed, but county leaders said there will be more opportunities for their ‘slice of heaven’ in the near future.
“Gone” Season 3 will be released this fall. You can watch seasons 1 and 2 at EchoTVStudios.com, and you can find more casting opportunities here.
There will be another filming date in mid-July, and Menifee County hopes to have a local premiere of the new season in the fall.
