Hulu Series Shot In Tewksbury Makes Its Debut

TEWKSBURY, MA -- Reviews for the first two episodes of "Castle ROck," which made its premiere on July 25, have been mostly positive. While the series is based on Stephen King characters and set in the fictitious town of Castle Rock, ME, crews filmed in Tewksbury last September and again in December.

In addition to working on the streets between East Street and Saunders Circle in December, the crews shot scenes at Tewksbury State Hospital last September. The series also filmed scenes at various locations in Massachusetts throughout last summer.

While generous tax credits have made Massachusetts the site for several, high-profile movie productions in recent years, and the state has a long history of shows set in Massachusetts, production of those shows has usually occurred elsewhere. The production of "Castle Rock" is based at New England Studios in Devens, making it the first scripted television show to be produced in the state since "Spencer For Hire" in the mid-1980's.

"Castle Rock" has a 10-show order from Hulu and is being produced by Bad Robot Productions, the production company for noted director J.J. Abrams. The Public Health Museum on the campus of Tewksbury State Hospital was closed from Sept. 7-20 and will be used as a backdrop for certain scenes in the show. It's not the first star turn for the hospital, which opened in 1852; most recently it served as a set in the critically-acclaimed Casey Affleck film "Manchester By The Sea."

Today, the state-run hospital offers mental health and critical care support for adults , as well as outpatient services for a variety of state health agencies. Each episode of "Castle Rock" is built around a new story line. Sissy Spacek, who plays Ruth Devers in four episodes in the first season, is arguably the best-known actor.

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Photo by Dave Copeland/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).