Florida TV Series ‘A Land Remembered’ Gets $25M Budget, Set To Film Locally

A $25 million deal puts Tampa's Todd Wiseman Jr. at the helm of turning "A Land Remembered" into a TV series. The project breaks from big studios, choosing Florida's real locations over out-of-state sets.

"Hollywood won't let me make this in Florida, but can you imagine making 'A Land Remembered' in Georgia? It's almost blasphemous. We're going to do it here," said Wiseman to the Tampa Bay Times.

State backing came through with $500,000. "A Land Remembered is more than just a novel — it's a tribute to Florida's history, its people and their perseverance," said Sen. Stan McClain to the Tampa Bay Times.

Viewers will watch the MacIvey clan transform across a century, starting in 1860. Their story winds from cattle drives through orange groves to real estate ventures, showing Florida's wild changes.

A new company, Tobias LLC, now holds the film rights. Brothers Truett and P.J. Gardner joined Wiseman to build sets in Tampa while shooting across the state's most striking spots.

The book's grip on readers hasn't loosened since 1984. Rick Smith, whose father wrote it, says, "It was the book that people who moved to Florida were given to read to try to understand the state. And it still sells. The royalties just keep going up every year."

Ten years back, Florida's film money dried up, all $296 million gone. That three-year program brought in $1.6 billion from 297 shoots. Dolphin Tale 2 got the last $5 million in 2013.

Taking cues from "The Chosen," a show about Jesus that started small but hit it big, this series aims to prove that independent TV can work.

After 15 years away in New York and Los Angeles, Wiseman, 37, came home to Tampa. His recent film The School Duel won at France's Deauville American Film Festival.

Local ranchers stepped up, offering their herds and land for authentic shots. While the show might stretch past the book's 1960s endpoint, the team promises to keep true to the story's roots.