Resident Alien season 4 filming starts in Ladysmith

“That attention to me is invaluable,” Paterson said. “It helps the awareness of the town, people see that it’s a nice, old well-kept heritage town.”

Several street banners line 1st Ave. between Roberts St. and Gatacre St. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Paterson met a couple recently from southern California who made a point of specifically taking the ferry from Vancouver during their trip to check out where Resident Alien is filmed and learn more about local landmarks featured in the show.

With a large Lower Mainland based production crew flooding Ladysmith, Paterson said local businesses are seeing the benefits, even in advance of taping.

“The movie industry is clean, and they know how to spend money.”

While pointing to a minority of residents griping about the inconvenience the production has, Paterson said most people appreciate the positive impacts Resident Alien is creating locally.

“Unfortunately, there is an impact on parking for downtown, which is an issue anyways, but I would say at least 75 per cent of the people get a kick out of it, they know that it’s not going to be a long time.”

Overview of vehicular movement/parking restrictions during Resident Alien filming (Town of Ladysmith)

Other surrounding parking and access restrictions are in place in the downtown area during Resident Alien filming.

Karen Olenik, owner of vegan restaurant Plantitude on 1st Ave., is located in the primary thoroughfare of Resident Alien filming.

Her restaurant is also serving as a green room for the show’s actors, directors and technical staff.

Olenik said Resident Alien increases interest in Ladysmith as the community’s quaint, heritage features reach a worldwide audience.

“It’s a really good boost to the economy and with the Canadian dollar so low and the incentives that the B.C. government’s been putting in, we’re only going to be getting more and more filming, which I think is a great thing.”

While some people may be irritated by American flags displayed in downtown Ladysmith during a tariff war instigated by the United States, Olenik said there are undeniably strong, and important connections fused between the two countries.

“It’s not so much the people and the industries of the United States and Canada that have issues with the other, it’s political leadership and what their choices are,” Olenik said. “We love our American tourists that come up and I know they love our Canadian tourists who go down.”

Resident Alien is available on the specialty cable channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streaming on Netflix.

A select few business on Ladysmith’s 1st Ave. directly involved in the production will be closed during filming.

Production crew members have been busy creating signage, landscaping and other enhancements to resemble the small fictional community of Patience, Colorado. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Downtown Ladysmith has had noticeably more foot traffic in advance of Resident Evil filming. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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by Ian Holmes

Resident Alien season 4 filming starts in Ladysmith

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