Like many Georgia towns that host popular shows, Senoia has built up a solid tourism industry from fans eager to see first-hand where the show’s heroes fight for survival in a zombie apocalypse. Teens in zombie makeup and tour guides roam a downtown district dotted with newly built shops, restaurants and day spas – evidence of the influx of Hollywood money. At the Saturday market, aspiring actor Hudson Meeks said he views the zombie show as a blessing.

“There’s no doubt: none of this would be here if it weren’t for The Walking Dead,” said Meeks, who works on his family’s nearby farm and bed-and-breakfast and mans a stall at the Saturday farmer’s market.

Senoia Mayor Dub Pearman has watched his town flourish since The Walking Dead started filming about a decade ago, transforming from a sleepy Main Street to a destination spot with a bustling farmer’s market and a downtown area that’s “almost developed-out.”

“The incentives that the state has for bringing the film industry here are fabulous,” Pearman said. “We’ve got a pretty good thing going here.”

Brick buildings and shops line the streets of downtown Senoia where scenes from The Walking Dead were shot. (Credit: Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon for State Affairs)

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The burst in big spending by movie and TV crews in places like Senoia have long fueled arguments from the credit program’s backers that economic gains far outweigh any potential tax revenues that the state gives up.

Local movie and TV spending has exploded since 2005, rising from an estimated $155 million spent that year to more than $2 billion annually in recent years, according to state economic-development officials. That spending figure shot up to $4 billion in local spending this past fiscal year, notching the highest total on record, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. That rounded out to more money than Georgia spent on any of its state-funded services except public schools.

Big-budget film spending has trickled down to localities like Covington, the seat of rustic Newton County that has drawn many movies and TV shows over the years including the widely popular series, The Vampire Diaries.

College students Lawrence Bayer and Maddie Govea visit Covington on a trip from El Paso, Texas, to see where The Vampire Diaries was filmed. (Credit: Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon for State Affairs)

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Vampire faithful from across the world trek to the cafes, restaurants, bars and clocktower where the show filmed, including college students Lawrence Bayer and Maddie Govea, who recently planned a five-day trip from El Paso, Texas, around visiting Covington.

“She’s a really big fan,” Bayer said of his girlfriend, Govea. “She was like, ‘Here’s the tour, website and stuff.’ So I just got everything.”

Film-inspired tourism now ranks among Covington’s top industries, said Ron Carter, who runs the local welcome center. Covington officials estimate tourism spurred more than $152 million in tax revenues in 2019, translating to $314 in property-tax relief for each household that year.

“The tax credits enhanced what was already going on here,” Carter said. “If Georgia doesn’t have that tax credit in place, The Vampire Diaries wouldn’t have called.”

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NEXT

Part IV: Critics Question Costs