Second season of 'Swagger' ready to film in central Va.; unknown if Petersburg is included

Bill Atkinson, The Progress-Index
·2 min read
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RICHMOND — The "Swagger" is coming back to central Virginia, but whether or not it spreads into Petersburg is not clear at this time.

On Monday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office announced that production on the second season of the Apple TV streaming series will resume. Crews were here between 2019 and 2021 shooting the first season, which launched last October. The series about dreams and ambitions in youth basketball is based on the early life of Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and how he rose through the ranks of basketball programs in Washington, D.C. to become a two-time NBA champion.

Andy Edmunds, director of the Virginia Film Office, said in an email that he was not sure how much, if any, of the second "Swagger" season will be filmed in the Tri-City area. "Probably so, but we haven't seen any scripts yet," he said.

For the first season, portions of Petersburg and Hopewell were used for filming.

Watch the first-season trailer of "Swagger" here.

No exact dates for production were announced.

The show's cast include O'Shea Jackson Jr., Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Quvenzhané Wallis, Caleel Harris, Tristan Mack Wilds, Tessa Ferrer, James Bingham, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe and Jason Rivera. Jackson is the son of rapper/actor Ice Cube. Wallis, who is now 18, became the youngest and first Black child actor to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her star turn in the 2014 film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" — she was 6 when the movie was filmed and 9 when she was nominated.

In a statement announcing the production return, Youngkin called the series "compelling" and noted Virginia's "rich history of great basketball players." One of those players was the late Moses Malone of Petersburg.

“We look forward to welcoming the team behind this engaging series back to the commonwealth,” Youngkin's statement read.

The series is produced by Thirty Five Ventures, Imagine Television Studios, CBS Studios and Undisputed Cinema. It was created, written and directed by Reggie Bythewood, who also serves as executive producer with Durant, Brian Glazer and Rich Kleiman.

Because it is being produced in Virginia, 'Swagger" is eligible for a film tax credit and grant. The amount of those is based on the number of Virginia workers hired, goods and services purchased here and other deliverables, such as Virginia tourism promotions.

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Bill Atkinson covers government, politics and breaking news. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg could be featured in second season of 'Swagger' series