Apple TV+ Forced to Stop Production on Series Following Threats to Producers

The Apple TV+ original series Lady in The Lake needed to halt production in the middle of filming on Friday due to threats and extortion against the producers. According to a report by Deadline, several people approached the producers in the middle of downtown Baltimore while they were filming and threatened to come back and shoot someone if they were not paid a large sum of money. Producers halted filming for the day and decided to look for a new location.

A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department broke this news to Deadline, saying that the extortionists did not specify how much money they wanted. However, the local news outlet The Baltimore Banner reported that the extortionists were drug dealers, and that they asked for $50,000 which the producers refused. A spokesperson for the studio, Endeavor Content, issued a follow-up statement on Sunday.

"Friday afternoon, on the Baltimore set of our production Lady in the Lake, prior to the arrival of the cast and crew, per their call time, a driver on our production crew was confronted by two men, one of whom brandished a gun directed at our driver, and then they fled the location," it read. "We are working with the Baltimore Police Department as the investigation is ongoing. The safety and security of our crew, cast and all who work across our productions is our highest priority, and we are thankful no one was injured. Production will resume with increased security measures going forward."

The statement went on: "It has been a privilege filming Lady in the Lake in Baltimore, working with its vibrant community across many areas. Our thanks and appreciation to the City of Baltimore, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Baltimore Film Office, Maryland Film Office and the Baltimore Police Department for their incredible support as we continue production in the great City of Baltimore and surrounding communities."

While details on this situation are still scarce, it's worth noting that Lady in The Lake has some charged social and political content. The show is based on a book by former Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Lippman, and it is set in the 1960s when changing segregation laws allowed Black Americans to move into the city, which happened relatively quickly. The Baltimore riot of 1968 and other civil unrest led to some tense moments in the city at that time.

The story itself is about a white Baltimore housewife named Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman) who leaves her husband and becomes an investigative journalist. She becomes obsessed with solving two mysterious murders, including the killing of bartender Cleo Sherwood – played by Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram. The show is a miniseries ordered in March of 2021 and filming began in April of 2022.

There is no release date for Lady in The Lake yet, and there's no telling how this disruption will impact the series. There's no word yet on when or where filming might resume.