Sewickley gets Netflix makeover as part of new film project

Several Sewickley residents and business owners were excited for the borough’s closeup as Netflix production crews were in town filming scenes for an upcoming project.

“I think this is a really pretty area, and think it’s nice that people would want to feature it in some film,” said Kimberly Anderson, manager of Pennsylvania Academy of Dance at the corner of Beaver and Walnut Street. “We would want our name to be in the movie, if that’s possible.”

Crews were right outside her door Monday filming part of “The Chair,” a six-episode dramedy written by executive producer and showrunner Amanda Peet.

Resident Cheryl Redmond said it was exciting to see the production during her afternoon routine.

“I thought I’d walk down Beaver (Street) to see what’s going on,” she said. “It’s a quaint little town, and I think people are extremely friendly. Everybody knows everybody. The fact that they’re willing to open the town (to Netflix) says they’re really welcoming.”

Council voted Feb. 9 to approve a request for roving closures of several streets and the use of five police officers during the filming.

“The Chair” stars Golden Globe-winner Sandra Oh of “Killing Eve,” David Duchovny of “The X-Files” and Emmy-winner Jay Duplass from “Transparent.”

On IMDB, the plot is described as “the trials and tribulations of the chair of an English department at a major university.”

Parking was restricted along several roads, something Beaver Street shop owner Justin “the Jeweler” Thomas was hoping to avoid.

“I’m glad it’s on a Monday,” Thomas said. “It’s our slowest day. If this was a Saturday, it would be pretty bad. Saturday makes up for the whole week … I wouldn’t say it’s bad. It’s annoying, but it’s not bad for the town.”

Monday’s filming focused a lot on Duplass’ character. One scene was about him being late for work and finding an interesting method of transportation.

Another scene, recently added to the production, was filmed at the borough building along Thorn Street.

Netflix officials said the government office would be digitally transformed into a school in the fictional town of Pembroke. Oh’s character, Ji-Yoon, is the first woman chair of the English department at Pembroke University.

Ji-Yoon’s daughter, Juju, and classmates were to be dressed up in outfits marking the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of deceased loved ones for a celebratory reunion.

Filming of “The Chair” began in February and is expected to wrap up some time in April.

Location manager Eric DiLucente of Iron City Film Works said the Sewickley shoots went very well.

“A little chillier than we thought this morning, for sure, but it’s warming up,” he said. “The overcast kind of helps in some ways. It makes it a little more nondescript what time of day it is so you don’t have to light as much necessarily to match the scenes.”

There was also a lot less traffic than normal due to many businesses being closed on Mondays.

Borough police assisted with shutting down portions of Beaver and Broad streets, as well as roving closures of several side streets, as part of the filming.

“The police are fantastic,” DiLucente said. “The chief has been wonderful. The borough in general has been super helpful. As usual the day of, you have some change in plans. They were quick to react to that and made sure the neighborhood was safe and businesses were able to operate.”

Covid safety measures included all crew members wearing masks and face shields, daily temperature checks and covid tests at least three times a week.

DiLucente said there was one false positive test throughout production, and all the rest came back negative as of mid-March.

Sandra Oh will star in and executive produce The Chair, a new six-episode dramedy about the Chair of an English department at a major university. Amanda Peet will write and executive produce the series, which will also star Jay Duplass pic.twitter.com/LqqN41ARr9

— Netflix Queue (@netflixqueue) February 21, 2020

Other staff and cast members were unavailable for interviews.

It is unclear when the series would be available on Netflix.

“In today’s world, things drop at different times,” DiLucente said. “Things are so quick in a digital world that they can turn something around very fast. I would think some time in the fall would make sense. Netflix has its own distribution plan, I’m sure, which I’m not aware of. Generally speaking (projects air) within a year.”

Sewickley had a taste of Hollywood last year when parts of the Christmas romantic comedy “Happiest Season” were filmed there.

Thomas Jewelers’ building can briefly be seen in that movie.