Stars of HBO’s ‘Somebody Somewhere’ say Lockport setting big part of show’s success

Lockport — A select group of Lockport residents got to be the first people to see the newest episode of HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere” at a special screening Wednesday to celebrate the show’s final season in the town where it was filmed.

The event was held at the ROXY Theater in downtown Lockport and featured a screening of the third season of the Peabody Award-winning show’s first two episodes, and a Q&A panel with its stars and creators: Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller, Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen.

The show is set in Everett’s real-life hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, which Lockport doubles for on screen.

“We spent about 15 hours on a bus scouting locations through Illinois,” explained co-creator and co-showrunner Bos, who herself is an Evanston native. “We’d seen Manhattan, and we wanted to find a town with a similar look and feel. The limestone buildings and the old downtown main street in Lockport had a very similar structure, and we just fell in love with it that way.”

The creative team said it was important to them to find a filming location in the Midwest to capture the feel of the story and the kind of community it is set in.

“It was very integral to the success of the show to feel the Midwestern-ness of it,” co-creator and co-showrunner Thureen said. “That was very special to us. If it was filmed in New York, or especially L.A., it wouldn’t have felt the same. You would have had different scenery and very different people and cars in the background. It wouldn’t have felt right.”

[ Photos: Lockport hosts HBO premiere of 'Somebody Somewhere' ]

“Somebody Somewhere” tells the story of Sam, a woman who returns to her hometown following the death of her sister, and her relationships with her second sister Tricia, and her friends Joel (Hiller) and Fred.

Significant portions of the show were filmed on downtown streets and in local businesses and homes, something the screening made a game out of by asking the audience to cheer and wave glow sticks when they recognized a location – a game which made the screening a boisterous, interactive experience for the 140 attendees.

“We’re very grateful we got to do it and for everything Lockport has given us.”

—  Bridget Everett, star of HBO's “Somebody Somewhere”

“It’s a lot of fun to be able to do this,” said Mayor Steven Streit, who helped introduce the screening. “I’m glad HBO and the actors had a good time working in Lockport. The residents had a lot of fun with it over the last few years.”

”Somebody Somewhere” originally started filming in Lockport in October 2019, leading the cast to call the town their “home away from home.”

“It’s fun to get to celebrate the show here,” Bos said. “When we left after shooting season three, we didn’t know it was going to be our last season, so it’s nice to come back.”

Despite its critical success, garnering a Peabody for season two as well as an AFI Award for TV Program of the Year, a Dorian Award, an INOCA TV award for Everett, the small-scale show was not renewed for a fourth season at HBO.

“It’s sad that it’s over,” Everett said. “We’ve all loved doing this so much, but it still feels like a miracle that we got to do it in the first place. We all wish it could go on forever. We’re very grateful we got to do it and for everything Lockport has given us.”

Everett noted that since the creative team did not know the third season would be their last, they did not write the last episodes as “a series finale.”

“I’m glad HBO and the actors had a good time working in Lockport. The residents had a lot of fun with it over the last few years.”

—  Lockport Mayor Steven Streit

“We’re very happy with the season,” she said. “We didn’t write it as the end of a series though. It is kind of a snapshot of the characters’ lives, so for us their stories are still going. Maybe somebody we’ll get to be back here making a movie or something to continue it. Who knows?”

During the Q&A moderated by Lockport resident Ron Lif, the team encouraged local fans to tell others about the show and to make it known to HBO if they want more seasons, in case the network could change their mind about a late renewal.

When asked if she had a favorite memory of the production over the years, Everett said she was proudest of “the making of the show.”

“I’m just as proud of that process as the end result,” she said. “All the people we worked with and the environment, and the crew were so inspiring and happy. It’s a rare experience to do something you’re proud of that people love and that makes you happy to come to work every day.”

“What’s fun about this show is it’s about finding your own family and your people,” Hiller said. “And ironically – perfectly – we all found each other making it and we became very close, and we became family. So that was my favorite thing about this experience.”

“It’s been an absolute dream come true,” Bos said. “We had a very tight-knit, familiar group, and we got to make a TV show in the Midwest, surrounded by kind people and got to really highlight the beauty of a small town in Illinois.”

To the Lockport audience, Everett, who has performed as a singer as well as an actor and comedian, also explained her personal motto, inspired by LL Cool J.

“DDHD,” she said. “Dreams don’t have deadlines. It means don’t give up on yourself, and it’s kind of the message of the show. I’m 52, and I feel like I just started hitting my stride in my late 40s. Don’t give up on yourself. I’m very glad I never did, because otherwise I wouldn’t be here right now.”

The final season of “Somebody Somewhere” airs at 9:30 p.m. on Sundays on HBO and currently is streaming on Max.