North Jersey set the stage for some 90’s nostalgia during the filming of the Hulu television series Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Season 2. Based on a true story, the show follows the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s -- a vision of Bobby Diggs, aka The RZA, who strives to unite a dozen young, black men that are torn between lives of music and crime. They eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories. Executive produced by RZA, Method Man, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and Alex Tse, the series will air later this year. 

Filmed entirely in New Jersey, Wu-Tang: Season 2 stars Ashton Sanders as RZA, Shameik Moore as Raekwon, Siddiq Saunderson as Ghostface Killah, and Dave East as Method Man, with recurring appearances by Joey Bada$$. Filming took place on locations in East Orange, Elmwood Park, Kearny, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, and Secaucus. 

Many television programs have been produced in New Jersey throughout the years. They include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Oz, The Enemy Within, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, Emergence, Little America and, most recently, The Equalizer. 

Governor Phil Murphy pointed to the recent spate of television shows shot in the state as a testament to the success of the tax credit program. “A single network series filming in New Jersey for a full season can generate as much as $100 million in local economic activity, and create hundreds of local jobs,” he emphasized. The Governor cited as examples the aforementioned projects and such television shows as CBS’s The Equalizer and Ways & Means, and HBO’s The Plot Against America, all filmed on location here in the last two years. 

Since the reinstatement and enhancement of New Jersey’s film incentive program, production activity has increased as much as 500%. Produced by Imagine Television, Wu-Tang: Season 2 is one of many projects recently attracted to the state by the New Jersey Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program, which offers a tax credit for qualified productions filming here. “We are delighted that the critically acclaimed Wu-Tang series chose to film Season 2 in the Garden State,” said Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “We continue to see television shows produced here on a regular basis and expect that trend to continue in the years ahead.” 

About the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission 

The NJMPTVC, which falls under the New Jersey Department of State’s Business Action Center, is staffed by industry professionals and serves as a resource for production companies. The Commission promotes film and television production in New Jersey. 

www.film.nj.gov