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'Orange Is the New Black' Filming in Chicago Thursday

By Emily Morris | February 13, 2014 9:37am | Updated on February 13, 2014 11:07am
 Natasha Lyonne (l.), Jason Biggs, Taylor Schilling, creator Jenji Kohan, Danielle Brooks, author Piper Kerman, Taryn Manning and Kate Mulgrew attend an "Orange Is the New Black" event on Oct. 2, 2013, in New York City.
Natasha Lyonne (l.), Jason Biggs, Taylor Schilling, creator Jenji Kohan, Danielle Brooks, author Piper Kerman, Taryn Manning and Kate Mulgrew attend an "Orange Is the New Black" event on Oct. 2, 2013, in New York City.
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Getty Images/Craig Barritt

CHICAGO — The Netflix original series "Orange is the New Black," which was renewed for a second season even before its July 2013 debut, is filming exterior shots Downtown and in West Town on Thursday.

According to a film notice, the show will be blocking off parking on the north side of Wacker Place between Wabash and Michigan avenues from 5 a.m.-8 p.m.

It's the first time the show has come to Chicago to shoot, Chicago Film Office Director Richard Moskal said. He said a small crew is filming exteriors here on Thursday.

Permits were issued in the Loop at Wacker Place and Wabash Avenue along with Quincy and Clark Streets. In West Town, the show has a permit to film at Chicago and Racine avenues, according to the film office.

The series is based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, who was convicted for her role in a heroin-trafficking case from the '90s and served time in a Connecticut federal women's correctional institution.

The drugs allegedly moved through O'Hare Airport, the Tribune reported, and Kerman reportedly admitted to taking three trips for the trafficking ring, one of which involved taking $50,000 from Chicago to Brussels. She also spent time here in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

The cast of the show reportedly wrapped filming for the second season in late January, so it seems unlikely they'll be around for the Chicago shoot.

Other shows planning on filming here Thursday include "Crisis" in Lakeview, "Chicago Fire" in University Village and "Shameless" in North Lawndale and Old Town, based on reader tips to On Location Vacations.