Filming for JK Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" series has started in Stroud, Gloucestershire last July 7.
The production team started shooting in the Archway School before moving on to the Stroud police station. Produced by BBC and HBO and made by JK Rowling's Bronte Film And Television, the series was reportedly looking for a 1970-1980s location to fit the feel of the novel's fictional town.
The location team chose Stroud's Archway School for its slightly older buildings compared to the other modern-looking academies.
Archway's playing field and old-style buildings were used on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. More filming are expected later in the summer.
200 students from Paganhill Secondary School were lined up to be extras in the mini-series.
JK Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" is the first adult novel that the author finished and released after the "Harry Potter" series. A more mature and grimly political novel, it became the 15th best-selling book of 2012.
The story centers around the battle of power in Pagford, a fictional town in England. After Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly, the town's Parish Councilor seat is left vacant and Pagford begins an impromptu election. Chaos erupt when candidates for the position start getting their secrets exposed online. A dark past involving drugs, prostitution and even rape threaten the group of men.
Michael Gambon, who has worked in the "Harry Potter" franchise as Dumbledore, stars in the new series. He is joined by acclaimed actors, including Keeley Hawes (The Avengers), Rory Kinnear (Skyfall), Monica Dolan (Sightseers), and Julia McKenzie (Notes on a Scandal).
Directed by John Campbell (In The Flesh), JK Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" is expected to air later this year.
JK Rowling recently released a short story about a matured Harry through the "Harry Potter" interactive website, Pottermore. It is told in the perspective of journalist Rita Skeeter, mentioning the members of Dumbledore's Army and their lives as 30-something-year-olds.
See behind-the-scenes photos below.
