MACON, Ga. — Film crews milling about Macon recently are shooting scenes for the second season of the ‘Go Big Show’ on TBS.
The extreme daredevil competition returns to the Macon Coliseum where the first season launched late last summer with an outdoor audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was billed as TV’s first “interactive drive-in audience” due to the governor’s emergency order that limited crowd sizes and gatherings.
Audience plans for this season’s crowd have yet to be released. Producers are no doubt paying attention to the latest trends with the delta variant.
Last year, cast and crew stayed in a coronavirus bubble, rarely leaving the Marriott City Center or grounds of the Coliseum during their stay.
They were tested for the virus three times a week and subject to continual wellness checks.
As judge Snoop Dogg strolled the Coliseum grounds in a promotional video, he characterized the bubble: “If you ain’t never been locked down, you are now.”
He highlighted the hand sanitizer, masks and social distancing that allowed the show to go on.
“We’re doing big things in the world even just by being here and shooting it,” judge Jennifer Nettles said in the “Inside the bubble” video filmed last year.
Many movie sets and other television shows went on hiatus due to the pandemic.
The show premiered in January and delivered up dangerous stunts, alligator trainers, monster trucks and an assortment of acts competing for a $100,000 prize.
TBS previews season two as “some of the most extreme and death-defying acts from around the country.”
Visit Macon’s Camera-Ready Liaison Aaron Buzza expects crews to be in town at least through Labor Day. This time, they are ready to explore what Macon has to offer.
“It will be good to see them out and about,” Buzza told last month’s Visit Macon board meeting.
A crew member was asking where to find “good food” while working Monday at the Terminal Station. The convention and visitor’s bureau compiled a list of favorite eateries and nightlife activities to share with them.
More than 200 people are scheduled to work on the show, Buzza said, but no Snoop Dogg this time.
Grammy award-winning DJ Khaled will be judging in his place with prior panelists Nettles, Rosario Dawson, Cody Rhodes and host Bert Kreischer.
The Macon-Bibb County Commission will be briefed on the production and street closures during its meeting Tuesday night.
Film crews are expected to be shooting on Poplar Street on Friday and at the skate park at Carolyn Crayton Park at Central City next week.
Buzza has been busy with other movie and television scouts as 18 different productions have been recently looking at Macon, he said.
He enthusiastically mentioned a “really, really exciting production,” that is eying the Hay House this fall.
“Keep your fingers crossed for some of these to come together,” Buzza told the board.
Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976.
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