Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Entertainment
Sophie McLaughlin

Movies and shows filmed in Northern Ireland to keep an eye out for in 2023

As we enter 2023, Northern Ireland continues to be a hub for film and TV as our talent, skill and scenic settings are recognised on a global scale.

After the success of blockbuster productions such as Netflix's The School for Good and Evil and the film adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons, get used to seeing NI on the screen as more and more companies choose our wee country for filming.

Film and camera crews have been regularly spotted over the past year and we are excited to see what these productions have in store for us.

Read more: The big celeb visits to Northern Ireland of 2022

While a number of the movies and shows filmed across the country have not got official release dates just yet, we can expect to see a handful of brilliant projects on our screens this year.

Here are five productions filmed in NI that we should see in 2023:

Dalgliesh

Filming returned to Northern Ireland for the second series of the hit Channel 5 detective drama Dalgliesh.

The show, based on P.D. James Inspector Dalgliesh Mysteries tales, is set in mid-1970's England and follows Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, a detective and widower, as he strives to solve unusual murders.

According to Channel 5’s original synopsis of the drama, the series "follows Dalgliesh’s career to present day as he solves unusual murders and reveals buried secrets” with each of the three murder mystery films offering “its own unique setting and extraordinary cast”.

Series 3 of the show will film in NI in 2023.

Lift

Kevin Hart filming in Bangor (Darren Devonshire)

Kevin Hart made his mark on NI in 2022 when he moved over to film his comedy heist movie Lift and ended up performing a string of intimate comedy gigs across Belfast.

Lift "follows a female master thief and her ex-boyfriend who team up to steal $100 million in gold bullion being transported on a 777 passenger flight," according to IMBb.

World On Fire

World On Fire filming in NI (NI Screen/ Facebook)

Northern Ireland became the home of the popular BBC 2 war drama World On Fire's second series.

It tells the story of the war through the eyes of ordinary people whose lives have been thrown into chaos. Set in October 1940, lone pilots are sent to destroy German bombers prowling the skies above Manchester as the Northern Blitz begins. The true reality of war has arrived in Britain.

Series two will take viewers from the streets of Britain into occupied France, Nazi Germany, and to the sands of the North African desert, where British troops struggle alongside Indian Sappers and Australian Diggers to adapt to a very different kind of combat.

The Last Rifleman

Pierce Brosnan spotted filming The Last Rifleman at an East Belfast cafe on the Belmont Road (Andrew Campbell)

Former James Bond star Pierse Brosnan was spotted in multiple locations over the past year filming for his new dramatic blockbuster The Last Rifleman.

An overview of the film on IMBb said: "A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past."

Filming locations included Belmont Bistro Cafe, Market Square in Antrim and Helens Bay.

Blue Lights

Blue Lights will tell the story of rookie police officers working in contemporary Belfast and is created by the writers of The Salisbury Poisonings, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn.

The Northern Irish duo and the series writing team met with the former Lord Mayor of Belfast, Kate Nicholl, to discuss the series which has been inspired by research and interviews of serving police officers in Northern Ireland.

The series was announced as part of the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen partnership agreement and is described as a "fast-paced, frightening, and funny insight into what happens when the idealism of the police college classroom meets the reality of life, in a precinct that's as starkly divide as it is terrifyingly dangerous."

READ NEXT:

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.