The second season of the Boston-based — and for the first time Boston-filmed — Showtime series “SMILF” returned Sunday and will include scenes shot at Grace Episcopal Church in Newton Corner, according to this story in the Globe told by the show’s creator/star Frankie Shaw.
Rolling cameras around Boston presented fresh opportunities and challenges for the series, Shaw noted. Finding a church where “SMILF” could shoot scenes for the season’s first episode was particularly complicated, she said; many turned them away
“We were coming down to it, but this one very lovely church [Newton’s Grace Episcopal Church] said, ‘We’re not saying no, but you need to come in and tell us why and who you are,’” Shaw told the crowd. “And we talked with them for almost two hours about how it’s easy to secure locations in Boston if you’re a gangster movie or have murder in your movie, but not if you’re a TV show called ‘SMILF.’” Afterward, Shaw and other crew members prayed with board members as they asked for God’s guidance in the decision; they ended up getting the church’s blessing.
With allegations of harassment, civil rights violations and unfair labor practices currently being investigated against the creator and star of SMILF – Frankie Shaw,
I am stunned that the church appears to have not done its due diligence in okaying this shoot. I’m surprised that Newton residents with their No Place For Hate bumper stickers, and the rest of Newton’s liberal electorate have been silent. Rosie O’Donnell, who is involved with the series, has been vehemently vitriolic towards Trump, (misogynist, etc) so it’s a little rich to have her knee deep in this project.
Hey, when Hollywood comes calling,
all bets are off, hypocrisy be damned.
Many of these shows make payments to use a location. Did the church receive any payment? Anyone bothered to look up what SMILF stands for? Newton appears to be
quite tolerant of bad behavior, or at least bad behavior by people or projects they support
@Paul: I haven’t followed this closely but my understanding is that the allegations didn’t surface until just days before season two was to debut. If so, that would presumably have been after the church scenes were shot or use was approved.