Georgia-filmed 'The Big Door Prize' returns for 2nd season

Paul Milliken
·2 min read
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ATLANTA - It’s one of television’s most mysterious shows — which makes interviewing the cast and crew a little tricky.

The Apple TV+ series "The Big Door Prize" centers on the residents of a small town and the way their lives change when a strange machine promises to reveal their true potential. The show’s second season begins streaming today, and while we don’t want to spoil any of its surprises, here’s something that’s not a secret: it’s another high-profile series filmed here in metro Atlanta.

"There are a lot of shows where, through the magic of CGI or whatever, you’re kind of making a pretend place," says showrunner and executive producer David West Read. "We were able to do these 360-degree views of this very small Main Street, which is a real small Main Street in a real small town. And it felt like old-fashioned movie-making, of taking over and having the residents come out and watch what we were doing."

For the show’s packed lineup of stars, a major perk of filming in Metro Atlanta was enjoying the great outdoors during downtime.

"I think one of our favorite things collectively has been the BeltLine, especially where I was staying," says Gabrielle Dennis. "I was able to walk there and rent the scooters and the bikes, and do the whole experience."

Ally Maki agrees: "The BeltLine was honestly my favorite thing; I wish that was in every city that I was in! Just to be able to walk everywhere, get food, meet up with people … it was such a blast."

For co-star Josh Sagarra, the main attraction of working in the city is the food.

"I dream about The Flying Biscuit. I dream about Jeni’s. And I dream about Fox Bros. [Bar-B-Q]," he says. "I go there all the time."

The only complaint from "The Big Door Prize" cast? Something about the way we name our streets.

"We were staying off Peachtree Avenue right by Peachtree Place … and Peachtree Drive ... just at the end of Peachtree Lane," said Emmy winner Chris O’Dowd, laughing.

Season two of "The Big Door Prize" is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ now.