“A Land Remembered” Brings Georgia to Micanopy for New Television Series

MICANOPY, FL (352today.com) – “A Land Remembered” (1984) is a popular book written by Patrick D. Smith about the fictional MacIvey family’s migration from Georgia to Florida and the ways they overcome their struggles, detailing life in Florida during the 1800s. Now, the best-selling book is making its way to screens through a live-action adaptation directed by Todd Wiseman Jr. and his Tampa-based company, Tobias LLC. Filming for the television series is taking place in various locations in Florida, with the most recent filming taking place in the 352’s own Micanopy, where the crew was on location for one day Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

“People have been trying to make this into a film or television project for many, many, many years,” Wiseman stated. “It just so happened that I got the rights at a time when event television took off, streaming was exploding and the Florida state government decided to support us.”

Utilizing Florida’s historic buildings and mesmerizing landscapes, this series is being homegrown in Florida across various cities with a $25 million budget. Some film locations include Tampa, Dunnellon’s Drake Ranch, Paynes Prairie State Park and Micanopy. Dade City is next, among others. The recent filming in Micanopy consisted of slightly altered historic buildings, over 30 actors in costume, live animals, wagons, clay roads and more along NE 1st Street that were carefully designed to reflect the time period.

“It was presented as one of the possible locations just because of its really unique, historic features,” Wiseman stated. “I decided that I was very tired of Florida being filmed in Georgia, so I thought I’d have Georgia filmed in Florida. Today, Micanopy is pretending to be a Georgia town from the 1850s.”

Historic buildings were decorated to disguise tin roofing and featured signs across windows or hanging from wiring. The set took nearly a week to assemble before their filming day, closing one side of the road to traffic. Throughout filming, the production team took multiple takes, ensuring actors, animals, props and much more were diligently placed and directed for impactful scenes.

Katie Carlsen, who worked as a member of the art department on set in Micanopy, shared that the signs on the buildings were handmade with each one featuring a touch of the crew as small Easter eggs within the scene. She also shared that the sets utilize real animals, practical effects and design elements rather than CGI. She explained that the varying departments brought the production together as a whole with the construction crew setting up signage, the design crew putting elements together and the green crew designating plants in specified areas among others.

Micanopy residents walked past the set, checking out the scenes as they passed while others drove through the area slowly, catching a glimpse of the area. Production trucks were parked across the street from the set, lined with items for filming while the rest of the street featured crew and locals parallel parked on the side to allow traffic to continue flowing.

Wiseman explained that the one-day shoot in Micanopy was a part of a five-day week of filming with scenes taking place in Payne’s Prairie State Park two days prior and Miami-Dade two days after. He also detailed how he found Dunnellon’s Drake Ranch through connecting with Ann Louise Drake and the diverse features that drew him to it including a natural spring, scrub, a pine forest, a cypress forest and a river.

“Florida is an amazing place to film, but it is going to require more government support to bring the industry back. It’s not just about creating jobs; this is about people coming to Florida and seeing Florida in a new light,” Wiseman stated. “‘A Land Remembered’ presents the interior of Florida–something that’s not usually celebrated. So, we have a really rich wildlife corridor, we have beautiful forests, we have a history of cattle ranching, we have a history that’s been really under told… The Florida state government allocated a direct appropriation. I think it’s a really good sign for what’s to come.”

Although the road was closed for preparation up to the day of filming, as filming wrapped, the crew that set up the area quickly began to disassemble the set to return the area to its original state. Local operations returned to normal on May 21 after clearing the sandy road and restoring the area.