CAYUGA—When Amazon Prime Video’s wildly popular television series ‘Reacher’ returned for its second season on December 15, 2023 it took the world by storm, becoming the global streamer’s most viewed program of the year in just a few short days.
Local viewers will be thrilled to see Cayuga featured in the show’s second season, which filmed various key scenes inside clothing shop The Thrifty Dresser and outside on Cayuga St. N., with a fight scene featured in the show’s season two trailer taking place on the road in front of the Village Green.
One local business, Cravings by Brittany, not only had their sign prominently featured on the show, but they also supplied the cast and crew with delicious treats and coffee when they came to town to film in summer 2022.
According to Brittany Costabile, owner of Cravings, the Cayuga location was chosen by the show’s production team after they took notice of a TikTok video posted by The Thrifty Dresser.
“I was shocked at first – we weren’t sure what to think but we were excited! The set manager came by to speak with us and told us they would be starting filming here and what to expect. We were in contact with her for a while to discuss when they would be closing the street down and what we needed to take down from our windows, etc. She asked us if we would stay open to serve coffee and treats for the crew and we said absolutely we would,” said Costabile.
She said she knew that the outside of the store would end up featured on the show but was shocked to see the sign featured prominently in both the show and the trailer. With Prime Video available in over 200 countries around the world, it’s the type of exposure a business simply can’t buy.
Costabile expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity: “We are very excited and grateful to have such a keepsake of our little shop in such a popular show. It’s something we’ll be able to look back on for years to come and show our future families.”
She said the crew at Cravings got the chance to see the show filmed up close, making for an unforgettable experience.
“We stayed inside, but we were able to carefully watch from the windows. There’s a lot of people involved in making a scene. They were very nice to allow us to watch as long as we didn’t use our phones or get too close to the windows,” she said. “We were able to see a lot of the scenes being filmed.”
Since the debut, she said the shop has received calls from customers all over Canada to let them know they’d seen their store on the show: “Some people have already come into our store because they’ve seen it and wanted to tell us how cool it was to see our little shop in their favourite show.”
Haldimand has been making a name for itself as a destination for film crews. In addition to ‘Reacher’, Cayuga previously played host to the YouTube Premium show ‘Impulse’ at multiple locations, including Cayuga Secondary School and the Haldimand County Administration Building. The DC Comics-based teen superhero show ‘Titans’ and ‘11/22/63’ starring James Franco filmed in Dunnville, while Caledonia has also played home to a number of productions in recent years.
Costabile touched on what makes Cayuga an appealing filming location: “Our downtown has a ton of history. All the buildings are almost still in their original state; it’s very charming and part of the reason we are so grateful to be a part of it. My family has been a part of this community for a very long time. I grew up here, went to elementary school and high school down the road, had my first job at the grocery store in town. So, to have my business be here is so surreal and special.”
