By Mark Hallum
The Amazon Prime original series “The Tick” joined other hit TV shows by choosing Bell Boulevard as the scene for a filming destination.
With the show entering its second season, signs went up on the west side of the road in front of the LIRR station in Bayside reserving parking for the shoot, which took place on Tuesday morning.
“The Tick” stars Peter Serafinowicz (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as the title character and Griffin Newman (“Search Party”) as Arthur, an accountant with mental health issues who is harboring the suspicion his city is owned by a super-villain, The Terror, who has long been thought dead and joins forces with The Tick to take on the threat.
“I am so excited that Amazon wants to continue this wildly fruitful collaboration and that this amazing cast gets to stay together, and that we get to build this mythos further, wider, deeper, and taller,” Ben Edlund, the series creator and executive producer, said. “We got a good ball of mud spinning with the right tilt of axis. I’m very happy we have this opportunity to keep peopling it.”
Edlund is famous for the creation of the cult-classic show, “Firefly,” about a cohort of space cowboys fighting the law in their travels through the galaxy in the distant future.
“The Tick” sticks to Edlund’s fantasy trend by creating a world in which superheroes are an everyday reality.
“Ben has created a resounding hit while Peter and Griffin have brought Tick and Arthur to indelible life,” said Sharon Yguado, head of Scripted Series at Amazon Studios. “We can’t wait to bring fans more of the Tick universe soon.”
Filmmaker Paul Schrader used Bayside for scenes in his film “First Reformed,” starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried about an ex-military chaplain suffering from guilt over the death of his son, whom he pressured into joining the armed services. Filmed in 2017, Hawke’s character then forms a relationship with a worshiper at the church, played by Seyfried, and her husband who engage in a nefarious activity shared by many of the parishioners at the church.
Schrader is also known for his work as a writer on “Raging Bull” and Taxi Driver” with Robert Di Niro.
Bayside has also become a favorite for producers of the FX original series, “The Americans,” starring Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys as Russian KGB spies in 1980s American suburbia.
The Emmy nominated show has filmed in various locations around Bayside, including the Milk Farm on Bell Boulevard and the Bayside LIRR station.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
