The Man of Steel will once again be calling Cloverdale home.
The city of Surrey and Warner Bros. Television have agreed on three-year temporary use permit that will see the Cloverdale Fairgrounds transformed into a production set for the new TV series Superman & Lois.
The show, a spinoff of the Vancouver-shot Supergirl and part of The CW’s DC Arrowverse, will follow the daily domestic trials and tribulations of Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and his journalist partner Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) as they deal with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society.
Cloverdale will be playing the role of Smallville, hometown of Clark Kent/Superman.
The Surrey neighbourhood also doubled for Smallville in the TV series of the same name that ran for 10 seasons (2001-2010) on The CW.
The fairgrounds set will consist of paved roads and storefront facades with special buildings such as the train station, post office, and the Gazette newspaper to be built to accommodate indoor shooting.
The city of Surrey says Warner Bros. will spend an estimated $1.5 million on the set design.
“With COVID-19 impacting the traditional use of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, securing such a high-profile production makes good economic sense for our city,” Surrey mayor Doug McCallum said in a release.
The city of Surrey, which approved the lease deal on Monday at city council, says more than 200 people will be working to build the backlot set. Once complete, the production will see up to 275 cast and crew at the location.
Shooting starts next week and the show is scheduled to air in January.