ROGERS PARK — The cast and crew of FX’s “Fargo” will return to Rogers Park this week to wrap up local filming of the hit TV show.
The production is set to film in Rogers Park on Friday and Saturday, turning the area near Lunt and Wolcott avenues into 1950s Kansas City.
“Fargo” began filming its fourth season in Chicago in the fall, but production was halted when the coronavirus pandemic swept into Chicago. Filming recently started again in places like Oak Park. It is the first major film production to restart in the city since the pandemic, said Nick Rafferty, a production manager for “Fargo.”
READ: Rogers Park Becomes 1950s Kansas City In New Season Of ‘Fargo’
The crew will return this week to Rogers Park, where a local house is serving as the home of one of Fargo’s main characters. Friday’s shoot will take place during the day, while filming will happen Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Trucks will begin to arrive in Rogers Park on Thursday, Rafferty said.
The filming footprint will be confined to the area bounded by Lunt, Damen, Wolcott and Greenleaf avenues. This filming session in Rogers Park will likely be more crowded than previous ones, however.
During previous shoots, cast and crew would be transported away from the filming site to their trailers and to places to eat. To cut down on transportation for coronavirus reasons, the cast’s trailers will not be stationed near the filming site, Rafferty said.
Paschen Park will serve as the catering and rest area for production staff, he said.
The show’s fourth season is set in 1950s Kansas City, but producers said they chose Chicago for filming because it has preserved era-appropriate buildings. Starring in the show is Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman.
Previous shoots have turned Uptown’s entertainment district into a stand-in for retro Kansas City. Filming has also taken place in suburban Elgin and Blue Island.
Previous shoots in Rogers Park turned the area into a mid-century Midwest neighborhood, complete with classic cars and buses, plus retro stop signs and street lamps.
Rafferty said Rogers Park has been unique among the locations it selected for filming.
“We’ve been all over the map here,” Rafferty said. “The difference in Rogers Park is, the neighborhood is very dense. It definitely posed some challenges.”
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