As 2025 enters its final stretch, cameras continue to roll across Chicago. Network series, streamers, indie features, and commercial shoots will be keeping crews busy through the last quarter of the year. We are heading into a strong 2026. All hands on deck! We are going to be busy.
Here’s a look at what’s scouting, what’s in prep, what’s wrapping, and what’s filming in Chicago in the last quarter of 2025.
What’s filming in Chicago
Wrapped and in post:
LAURA LOUISE — wrapped
PRODUCER: Phil Lee – Darryl Manuel WRITER: Frederick Mensch DIRECTOR: Duane Edwards
CAST: Corbin Bernsen – Denise Sanchez – Gilbert Owuor – Patrick Mulvey – Kristen Bush – Campbell Krausen
Directed by Duane Edwards (Wrong Numbers) Laura Louise follows Edward Brannock (Corbin Bernsen), a retired postal worker thrust into the center of a reopened missing person’s case. When new evidence surfaces decades after a teenage girl vanished, Brannock faces intense scrutiny, forcing him to confront long-buried family secrets he’s desperate to keep hidden.
DIARY OF A MUSLIM CYNIC — wrapped
PRODUCER: Andrew Calof – Abubakar Khan – Ahmed Musiol WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sarah Mokh LP: Kyle Behling
Nora (aka Noora) is tumbling into an existential crisis. She can’t stop thinking about everything– the litter on the street, the microplastics we’re ingesting, the tragedies on the news, the fact that AI can now write everything. These larger crises are a distraction from the inner crisis that was brought on by the death of her father who struggled with addiction: was her father a good person, and by extension, is she? Did he succumb to the darkness because he was a writer? Will she? What kind of life should she aspire to have? She grapples with these questions and others through her relationships, internet searches, and college journey. In the heightened, dreamy stage between high school and college, where everything feels so big and existential, and in the tender bonds between family and friends, the individual quirks of each character– these are the places the film lives.
MOSES THE BLACK — wrapped
PRODUCER: Alexandros Potter – John Kynigopoulos – Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Yelena Popovic LP: Brett Hays 1AD: Anthony Cabral
CAST: Wiz Khalifa – Omar Epps – Quavo – Chukwudi Iwuji – Corey Hendrix – Ahmad Ferguson
A story about a gangster in modern day Chicago, inspired by the repentance story of the fifth-century saint of the same name. Epps plays Chicago gang leader and lead character Malik, with Khalifa as 2wo-3ree, the confident and volatile leader of Malik’s young crew. It marks the Grammy nominated rapper’s second movie role and his first as one of the leads. Quavo plays Straw, Malik’s arch-nemesis. The title character, St. Moses the Black, is played by Iwuji.
Currently filming in Chicago:
CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO MED, CHICAGO P.D. — currently filming
One Chicago, the powerhouse franchise from producer Dick Wolf, anchors NBC’s primetime lineup with three interconnected dramas — Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med. Filmed entirely in Chicago, the series showcase the city’s firefighters, police officers, and medical teams with storylines that often overlap, creating a shared universe rooted in the grit and humanity of Chicago’s first responders. Beyond their national popularity, the shows have become a major force in the local production economy, supporting thousands of crew jobs and consistently highlighting the city’s neighborhoods, culture, and real-world stakes.
SATURN RETURN — currently filming
PRODUCER: Dede Gardner – Jeremy Kleiner – Emily Wolfe WRITER: Gaelyn Golde – Clint Bentley WRITER/DIRECTOR: Greg Kwedar PM: Kenneth Yu 1AD: Larissa Malarek
CAST: Charles Melton – Rachel Brosnahan – Will Poulter
Saturn Return follows three inseparable college friends—Anders, Eve, and Lincoln—who reunite in their late twenties for Anders’ father’s funeral in Indiana. It’s been years since they’ve seen one another, and the emotional distance between them is almost as palpable as the grief. As the service begins, the story flashes back a decade to their college years: Eve, the introverted scholar; Anders, the ambitious dreamer bent on success; and Lincoln, the charismatic athlete who lives for the moment. Through alternating timelines, we witness their friendship form and fracture, revealing the romantic history between Anders and Eve—a love that once burned bright but couldn’t withstand the pull of adulthood and separate ambitions. Now, with the past echoing through every awkward silence and lingering glance, the funeral becomes a crossroads. Saturn Return explores whether time, regret, and maturity can realign what was lost—or if some constellations are meant to drift apart forever.
TRASH MOUNTAIN — currently filming
PRODUCER: Colin Trevorrow – Lilly Wachowski – Annys Hamilton – Rebecca Linfoot – Julie Lebedev – Eddie Vaisman – Zachary Spicer – Carrie Holt de Lama WRITER: Caleb Hearon – Ruby Caster DIRECTOR: Kris Rey LP/PM: Kelley Sims DP: Andy Rydzewski
CAST: Caleb Hearon – Zooey Deschanel – Kyle Marvin – Jaboukie Young-White
The story follows a gay Chicago man in his 20s who must return to rural Missouri to deal with the death of his father — an obsessive hoarder who has left a house full of items, some valuable and some not so, to pick through.
Filming soon:
GODSHOT — filming soon
December
PRODUCER: Warner Davis – Todd M. Friedman – Aiman A. Humaideh – Cory DeMeyers – Mary Grace Jacobsen – Peter M. Lenkov – Christian Litke – John Loberg – Pranav Pandit WRITER: Sammy Horowitz – Adam Pasen DIRECTOR: Gabriel Beristain
CHRISTMAS AT THE ZOO — filming soon
December
WRITER/PRODUCER: John W. Bosher – Chris Charles WRITER: Adam Rockoff
An entrepreneur brokering a sponsorship deal to build the city zoos new penguin habitat finds herself caught between her business and following her heart when she falls for a compassionate zookeeper over the holidays.
BARBERSHOP — filming soon
November 24
PRODUCER: Kevin Hart – Bryan Smiley – Mike Stein – Bradley Gardner – Cameron Burnett – Autumn Bailey-Ford – Tiffany Brown WRITER/PRODUCER: Marshall Todd – Max Searle LP: Dana Scott PM: Kori Murray
CAST: Jermaine Fowler
The Barbershop TV offshoot revolves around Travis “Trav” Porter (Fowler), who endeavors to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, a legendary barber at the iconic “Calvin’s” barbershop in Chicago. And while the barbers are new, the shop remains just as lively, the customers just as argumentative, and the fades are still the dopest in the city — because at Calvin’s, the community comes together for way more than just a haircut.
DELI BOYS — filming soon
December 8
PRODUCER: Jenni Konner – Nora Silver – Nisha Ganatra WRITER/PRODUCER: Abdullah Saeed SHOWRUNNER: Michelle Nader LP: Brett Hays PM: Bob Rolsky PC: Kristi Gescheidler
About a pair of pampered Pakistani-American brothers whose convenience-store magnate father dies and are then forced to reckon with their Baba’s secret life of crime. Ali will play Mir Dar, a hardworking son whose eager to impress his father, Baba — a scrappy immigrant who arrived in the U.S. broke and built an empire from scratch. Shaikh will play Mir’s brother Raj, who’s a pot-smoking and entitled playboy who lives the high life on his father millions. Fuller plays Prairie, Raj’s shaman who’s also a drugged-out “Afro-futurist” hipster who lives with him and various other hangers-on in stoner heaven luxury. Jagannathan will play Lucky, Baba’s right-hand woman. She can be very caring or a badass business boss lady, depending on what’s needed.
THE BEAR — filming soon
December 15 (or after the holidays)
PRODUCER: Hiro Murai – Josh Senior – Matty Matheson – Rene Gube – Cooper Wehde
SHOWRUNNER: Christopher Storer – Joanna Calo LP: Tyson Bidner PM: Carrie Holt de Lama PC: Thomas Molash DP: Andrew Wehde 1AD: Duccio Fabbri
Carmen Berzatto, a brilliant young chef from the fine-dining world is forced to return home to run his local family sandwich shop – the Original Beef of Chicagoland – after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he’s used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing reality of trading in Michelin star restaurants for the small ‘business’ kitchen filled with strong-willed and obstinate staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother’s suicide. In the latest season, the series’ fourth, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) and Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are pushing forward, determined not only to survive, but also to take The Bear to the next level. With new challenges around every corner, the team must adapt, adjust and overcome. The pursuit of excellence isn’t just about getting better – it’s about deciding what’s worth holding on to.
Prepping for January 2026:
The Chi — prepping
January
PRODUCER: Aaron Kaplan, Common, Lena Waithe ,Derek Dudley, Shelby Stone, Rick Famuyiwa, Rishi Rajani SHOWRUNNER: Justin Hillian, Jewel Coronel LP Michael Pendell PM: LouAnn Wu
Since its debut on Showtime in January 2018, The Chi has emerged as one of television’s most compelling portrayals of life in urban America, focusing on the residents of Chicago’s South Side. Created by Lena Waithe.
Scouting Chicago locations:
Heat2 — scouting
Scouting locations in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and South America
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer – Scott Stuber – Nick Nesbitt – Eric Roth – Shane Salerno WRITER: Meg Gardiner WRITER/DIRECTOR: Michael Mann
Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Austin Butler and Bradley Cooper mentioned for roles.
One day after the end of Heat, Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) is holed up in Koreatown, wounded, half delirious, and desperately trying to escape LA. Hunting him is LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). Hours earlier, Hanna killed Shiherlis’s brother in arms Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in a gunfight under the strobe lights at the foot of an LAX runway. Now Hanna’s determined to capture or kill Shiherlis, the last survivor of McCauley’s crew, before he ghosts out of the city. In 1988, seven years earlier, McCauley, Shiherlis, and their highline crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the US-Mexican border, and now in Chicago. Driven, daring, they’re pulling in money and living vivid lives. And Chicago homicide detective Vincent Hanna— a man unreconciled with his history—is following his calling, the pursuit of armed and dangerous men into the dark and wild places, hunting an ultraviolent gang of home invaders. Meanwhile, the fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative, driving through the years following Heat.
Maybe?
THE ROOSTER PRINCE
LOCATION: Oklahoma City, OK – Ventura, CA – Chicago, IL (maybe)
PRODUCER: Lije Sarki – Evan Silverberg – Cameron Fuller – Alexandra Tynion
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Josh Soskin LP: Mike Leahy PM: Bryan Mitchell CAST: Shia LaBeouf
The Rooster Prince is a road trip film about two brothers traversing American, trying to outrun mental illness. It is based on the screenwriter’s true life story with his older brother, an esteemed Harvard psychiatrist who became manic-bipolar at age 40 and took his own life. Paradoxically, the very disease that killed him, also got the brothers the closest they’d ever been.
As we wrap 2025, the industry looks ahead to a strong 2026 with the new Illinois Film Tax Incentives in place. With expanded credits, a solid infrastructure, and a skilled local workforce, Chicago’s production community is well positioned for what’s expected to be an active year ahead.
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