New 'Walking Dead' series will feature episodes shot in Kearny

Kearny is back on the small screen as AMC's "The Walking Dead" franchise has expanded its universe to the town and other parts of Jersey for its upcoming series, "The Walking Dead: Dead City."

The show is the fourth spinoff in "The Walking Dead" universe and will follow Maggie and Negan as they explore a post-apocalyptic New York City cut off from the mainland. Eli Jorné, who wrote and co-executive produced the original series, serves as the showrunner, while Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead franchise, oversaw the series.

The six-episode season premieres Sunday, June 18, at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+.

Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan reprise their roles as Maggie and Negan from the original television series, with Gaius Charles, Jonathan Higginbotham, Mahina Napoleon, Trey Santiago Hudson and Charlie Solis co-starring.

"The Walking Dead: Dead City" required an extraordinary array of challenging locations, the show's organizers say, but New Jersey provided a creative team with just what they needed. This is proof, once again, New Jersey is Film Ready" said Secretary of State Tahesha Way.

Much of the filming took place on the soundstage inside the Meadowlands Arena in East

Rutherford, formerly known as the Izod Center and once home to the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets.

Various North Jersey locations were used for filming of the series including Kearny Warehouse in Kearny, 51 Port Terminal in Bayonne, the Mushroom Tunnels in Cedar Grove, the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve, The Ivy in Weehawken, South Mountain Reservation (Turtle Back Rock Picnic Area) in West Orange, Franklin Avenue in Midland Park and at the Art Factory and in the City Hall area of Paterson.

Interior and exterior shots of Hoboken Terminal and Union Dry Dock in Hoboken required the use of special equipment such as a techno crane, jib arm, 125′ condor, 80′ lift and two scissor lifts.

A variety of scenes were shot in Newark on Academy, Commerce, Halsey, James and Washington streets, in Military Park, at the NJT subway, the National Newark Building, Express Shoe Repair, Newark Symphony Hall, Dayton Street School and an apartment on Lake Street.

Additional scenes were filmed on location in Central Jersey.

AMC says hiring 100 crew members and 1,100 cast members and extras for the filming of "The Walking Dead: Dead City," led to spending over $72 million in New Jersey for labor, goods and services.

Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.