Midlands at the movies

Lights, camera, action!

The West Midlands is famous for a tonne of things, music, manufacturing, JRR Tolkien and even curries! But did you know the Midlands is a hotspot for film and TV?

Over the years the Midlands has established itself as a perfect location for filming some of our favourite TV series and films, so much so there has been talk of film studios being set up right in the middle of Birmingham! It’s not surprising when you see how many hit programmes and blockbusters have been filmed here already and to celebrate we’ve decided to list a few of our favourites…

Peaky Blinders

Black Country Living Museum, Tipton Rd, Dudley

We couldn’t talk about the West Midlands and TV without bringing up the incredible Peaky Blinders. Created by Birmingham’s own Steven Knight, the series focuses on the notorious Brummie gang as they look to establish themselves in the aftermath of the 1st World War.

Due to the time the series was set, a lot of the filming has been done at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley to keep to historical relevance. 

Ready Player One

Jewellery Quarter (Newhall Street, Henrietta Street, Ludgate Hill, Lionel Street, Mary Anne Street, Livery Street, Water Street), Digbeth (the Typhoo Factory, Floodgate Street, Little Anne Street, River Street), Spaghetti Junction (by the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity & St Luke)

Based on a best selling book and directed by Steven Spielberg it doesn’t get much bigger than Ready Player One. Set in 2045 in a dystopian America, citizens seek salvation in a virtual reality world called the Oasis.

Ready Player One started filming in 2016 in numerous locations across Birmingham from Digbeth to the Jewellery Quarter. Steven Spielberg even spoke highly of the city as a filming location saying “It looked like it could be a city from the past or a city from the future. We had a great time filming in Birmingham, the people there were really wonderful.”

Man Like Mobeen

Small Heath, Balsall Heath, Digbeth

BBC Three’s very own Man Like Mobeen is a comedy series following a Small Heath man in his late 20’s trying to navigate his way through life in Birmingham.

Mobeen tries to lead an honourable life by keeping to his faith and looking out for his family but his criminal past keeps catching up with him in the funniest of ways. As the show’s creator and star Guz Khan is from Small Heath he wanted to film as near to his home as possible to best represent his life growing up in the West Midlands.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Colmore Row, Waterloo Street, Edmund Street, Margaret Street, Cornwall Street

The sequel to the action-packed spy film follows the Kingsman organisation teaming up with their American Allies to take down the Golden Circle and save the world once again.

The start of the film starts with an epic car chase in a black cab and Birmingham City Centre was picked as the perfect location to replicate London for filming it.

Small Axe

Goldthorn Avenue, Wolverhampton

Oscar and Bafta-winning writer Steve Mcqueen’s Small Axe focuses on the lives of the West Indian community in London from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. The series follows this community over 3 decades and how the lives of the protestors change throughout.

That rounds up our favourite Midlands at the Movies picks, can you name any more? Also, make sure to check out the rest of our blog for Midlands trivia and more!