SPOKANE, Wash. – Crews will start shooting the second season of Z Nation later this month, but how does their presence in Eastern Washington affect the economy?
Last year, Z Nation filmed locations across Eastern Washington. When you think about how they contribute to the economy, you initially think about the 225 crew members eating out at local restaurants and shopping in the area.
But the trickle-down effect is much bigger than that.
Jodi Binstock is the show producer. Binstock said a lot of the money is spent on renting vehicles and on vehicle maintenance. That includes all the trailers for the actors and equipment. That business has been a huge help for Diversified Truck & Equipment in North Spokane.
Jed Fischer and his dad are mechanics. They were hired to work on nearly a dozen cars and made $25,000 to $30,000 which was a big boost during a normally slow time of year.
"It helped things out quite a bit. You got a large company like that and they're willing to pay you and everything else. So it was pretty neat," said Fischer.
They were able to buy a new service vehicle because of that.
The show also spent a lot of money on props. In fact, crews rented several props from Diversified Truck & Equipment's lot, including this helicopter and armored truck.
They even blew up a field truck.
"You got to think, the helicopter has been sitting there a long time, I used to play in it. So seeing stuff on the film is really neat," said Fischer.
It turns out Fischer and his dad did such a good job, they are working with the show again in 2015.
The money going into Spokane's economy does not stop there. Another big cost is on location fees.
Many scenes were filmed at Eastern State Hospital which made just over $4,000. A hospital spokesperson said that money helped pay for music players, which are therapeutic for patients.
Z Nation is expected to spend $11 million in the area and shooting will begin on April 21.
