Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ begins filming in Cherokee

Filming for a popular Netflix series was underway at a motel in Holly Springs Monday.

Actors and crew for the critically acclaimed “Ozark” series on Netflix were on set at the Pine Crest Lodge on Holly Springs Parkway Monday morning filming the TV show’s highly awaited second season.

Lead actor, director and producer Jason Bateman was seen on the set conversing with other actors and crew members before breaking for lunch.

Holly Springs Police directing traffic around the set said filming began at 6 a.m. Monday. Bateman and other actors were seen leaving the lodge a little after noon.

A police officer mentioned the scene shot at the Pine Crest Lodge involved a prostitute. A crew member declined to comment on the upcoming season.

The drama series featuring Bateman and Laura Linney began streaming in July and received an 8.4 rating out of 10, according to IMDb, after nearly 50,000 votes.

The main site for “Ozark,” which takes place in the world of drug-money laundering, is the former Little River Grill, now known as The Blue Cat Lodge along Lake Allatoona. Bateman announced in October that the show being binge watched around the world had been picked up for another season.

“Our office is thrilled that ‘Ozark’ has been picked up for another season,” said Videssa Ormsby, Camera Ready liaison and project manager with the Cherokee Office of Economic Development previously told the Cherokee Tribune. “We feel like that there are many benefits to having a popular TV series filmed in your community, an increase in tourism being one of them.”