Chicago and Illinois appear to be heading into an active production stretch, with a Disney Channel pilot, a Midwestern sports biopic, a completed HBO Max drama pilot, and a downstate horror feature all moving through the local pipeline.
According to production sources, public production listings and trade reports, several projects are either preparing to shoot in the Chicago area and the surrounding area, have recently filmed in Illinois or are awaiting their next production step.
The Last Kids on Earth
Among the highest-profile titles is Disney Channel’s live-action pilot The Last Kids on Earth, which is scheduled to start in Chicago on July 13. The project is based on Max Brallier’s bestselling middle-grade book series, which follows teenager Jack Sullivan and his friends as they navigate an abandoned hometown after a mysterious portal unleashes monsters and zombies.
The plot description frames the pilot as taking place several months after a mysterious portal opens in the sky, spawning monsters and zombies and effectively dooming human civilization. With adults and “cool kids” either zombified or evacuated to unknown safe zones, Jack finds himself no longer the awkward, ignored kid he once was. He and his surviving friends set out to survive the apocalypse in style, while dealing with monsters, zombies, and threats from the other side.
Production materials reviewed by Reel Chicago list Kenwood TV Productions, Inc. as the production company, with Disney Branded Television, Disney Channel, and Blue Ant Media connected to the project. Kevin Tancharoen is listed as director, with James Stoteraux and Chad Fiveash as writer/producers. Producers include Brallier, Hilary Zwick Turner, Jennifer McCarron, and Matt Hornburg. Skot Bright is listed as line producer, with Jill Anthony Thomas and Anthony Kraus listed as casting directors.
The project gives Chicago another youth-skewing genre production with franchise potential. The Last Kids on Earth has already existed across books, animation, and games, making the live-action pilot a notable title for the local production community to watch.
American Blue: The Series
Meanwhile, American Blue, the HBO Max cop drama pilot starring Milo Ventimiglia, has completed its pilot phase after filming in Joliet and the Chicago area.
The project centers on Brian “Milk” Milkovich, played by Ventimiglia, who returns to his hometown of Joliet to help rescue a struggling police force while seeking redemption of his own. David Ayer directed the pilot, which is created by Jeremy Carver (Supernatural).
Trade reports have described American Blue as a pilot, but local sources indicate preparations are underway for the project’s next production phase – moving to series without an official pick-up. If those plans hold, the production could become a significant new television anchor for Illinois, particularly with its setting in Joliet and its Chicago-area production footprint.
The cast also includes Kelly Jenrette, Carlito Olivero, Onye Eme-Akwari, Jess Gabor, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Wrenn Schmidt, and Ellyn Jameson.
Herbert West: Reanimator
Elsewhere in Illinois, Herbert West: Reanimator is preparing to bring H.P. Lovecraft horror to Alton.
Cousins and producing partners Roger and Jeff Lewis are developing the film through their Alton-based banner Woodlake Entertainment. The project is a new adaptation of Lovecraft’s 1922 horror serial rather than a continuation of the 1985 Stuart Gordon cult classic, which became known for its splatstick gore and black comedy.
This version is being positioned as a more grounded take on Lovecraft’s original story about a medical student whose experiments in life extension produce horrifying results.
The project is also being built around Alton rather than using the city as a generic stand-in. Public reports say the filmmakers have incorporated Alton’s real name, streets, and local businesses into the screenplay, with portions of the film expected to shoot at The Wedge building. The production is also expected to involve local residents as background actors.
Jeff Lewis brings decades of Hollywood experience to the project, including Emmy-nominated makeup work and credits on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. Roger Lewis is producing alongside him through Woodlake Entertainment.
The screenplay was written by Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe, whose credits include The Haunting in Connecticut. Malcolm McDowell has also been linked to the project, though additional casting details are expected as the film nears production.
Unlike many productions that use Illinois locations to double for somewhere else, the filmmakers have indicated that Alton itself will be part of the story. That gives the production a community-facing footprint as it moves toward filming.
Magnetic Drive
Also emerging from Chicago’s indie/vertical space is Magnetic Drive, a drama-thriller vertical series from Dark Monarch Films and filmmaker David Alexander.
Public listings describe the project as a 10-episode first season centered on a rideshare driver carrying the weight of abandoned dreams who is forced to confront his past when a mysterious passenger refuses to leave his car, turning one night into a reckoning between fate and identity.
Alexander is listed as creator, writer, director and producer, with Tavores Johnson also listed as producer. Joe “Jody” Williams is listed as camera/DP, with Max Mooney as editor. Casting was done by Paul Sinacore Casting in LA. The cast listed publicly includes Madeline Ackerlund, Tyshaun Meekie, Emmanuel Johnston and Logan Alexis Ford.
Episode titles listed for the first season include The Passenger, The Runner, The Apology, The Call, The Confession, The Angel’s Cut, The Red Light, The Child, The Reckoning and Halfway Home.
Dark Monarch Films, founded by Alexander, is based in Chicago and describes itself as developing original film and television projects rooted in emotionally charged, culturally grounded storytelling.
Chatter
Additional projects are circulating in local production circles, including a possible Hallmark movie connected to The Fields Studios and an indie project known locally as Little 500. Details on those titles, including cast, plot and confirmed filming dates, were not publicly available by press time, though sources indicate both are part of the broader production chatter around the city.
For now, the confirmed and emerging slate points to a healthy range of work for Illinois: a Disney genre pilot, a prestige sports biopic, a potential HBO Max police drama, and a locally rooted horror feature.
That mix matters. It reflects the kind of production ecosystem Chicago and Illinois have been building toward — one that can support pilots, features, franchise adaptations, independent films and long-form television.
As summer approaches, the next big question is which of these projects will become one-offs, and which might return to Illinois for more.
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