Netflix TV series boosts popularity of film locations in Greater Victoria
The Netflix miniseries Maid is earning global praise – and it appears that seemingly ordinary Greater Victoria shooting locations are quickly becoming popular tourist attractions.
At Sassy's Family Restaurant in Brentwood Bay, staff are getting a lot of reservations for one table in particular.
"That's table three, in the sunroom," said Noel Eanzer, a server at Sassy's.
It's all because the table was featured in just a few seconds of screen time in the Netflix television series.
Sassy's is just one of 160 Greater Victoria location that Netflix filmed at.
The production was a boon for businesses, which were in the grips of one of B.C.'s COVID-19 lockdowns at the time.
"They hired out the entire restaurant and paid out the staff wages," said Eanzer.
Meanwhile, a strip mall in Saanich stood in as Value Maids, the company where main character, Alex, played by Margaret Qualley, gets her job.
Value Maids is actually Tillicum Laundry near Hampton Park.
Tillicum Laundry is shown: (CTV News)
Other shooting locations include downtown Victoria, the Patricia Bay Highway, and an oceanfront mansion at Ten Mile Point.
"I watched the show in, I think, in 10 hours or something," said Katherine Gilbert of the Vancouver Island South Film and Media commission. "I just really couldn't turn it off."
Everybody and their dog is talking about the show. But amid the charm of its breathtaking and familiar scenery are subjects that can be hard to touch on.
The show focuses on a single mother who escapes from domestic abuse.
She ends up at a women's shelter, which was filmed at an apartment building in Esquimalt.
The apartment building in Esquimalt that stood in as a women's shelter in the Netflix series is shown: (CTV News)
The unit that the character lives in with her daughter, Maddy – played by young Victoria resident, Rylea Niveah Whittet – is unit 23.
The woman who lives in that unit is named Piper, and she say she's a fan of the show.
"I cried at some points," she told CTV News. "I've seen it probably three times through."
The show also employed locals for its cast and crew, including one woman who was formerly homeless, who was hired on as an extra then later offered an acting contract.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.