Actor Matt Servitto once relied on a mug to remind himself where he was supposed to be.

For three seasons, Servitto worked in North Carolina filming the Cinemax series “Banshee,” set in a fictional Pennsylvania town of the same name. He said a Pittsburgh mug helped remind him where his character, Deputy Brock Lotus, existed.

“The show always looked to me like the South,” Servitto said Wednesday in Vandergrift, where the series' fourth season is now being filmed. “I had to remind myself I was not a small-town Southern sheriff; I was a small-town Northern sheriff.”

Servitto, whose wife, Anne, is a native of Upper St. Clair, said he urged consideration of taking the show to Pittsburgh when it was looking for a new home after North Carolina lawmakers ended that state's film tax incentives.

“This show should've been here since the beginning,” said Servitto, whose past work includes roles on “The Sopranos” and “Brotherhood.”

Filming of the eight-episode season, set to air in 2016, is rapidly reaching its conclusion. Jonathan Tropper, Banshee's co-creator and an executive producer, has been making his directorial debut in recent days at the helm of the season's sixth episode, scenes for which were being filmed simultaneously Wednesday in Vandergrift and across the river in Armstrong County.

Shooting for episode six is scheduled to be finished on Friday. The final two episodes will be filmed at the same time over a 19-day schedule, with production ending in mid-to-late August, Tropper said.

A start date for the new season to air has not been set.

Tropper said they knew before ending production of season three that Banshee would be leaving North Carolina. While he was in on the discussion, where it went wasn't his decision.

“It's a financial decision that comes down from HBO (which owns Cinemax). Obviously, it has to work creatively,” Tropper said during a break at Sweetlane Chocolate Shop, which has become a favorite with the cast and crew. “It's what makes financial sense. They're going to go where the rebates are.”

While five to six different towns were cobbled together around Charlotte to create the town of Banshee, Vandergrift will largely fill that role going forward.

“There were a lot of places in Charlotte we can't point the camera because it doesn't look like Pennsylvania, and here pretty much anywhere you point the camera, it looks like Pennsylvania,” Tropper said.

“Nothing really passes for Pennsylvania like Pennsylvania,” he said.

While the wet weather this summer has been a pain, Tropper said it hasn't really impacted the production.

Establishing ‘Banshee'

Through the use of stock footage and sets, Tropper said the transition should be seamless to the show's fans. In addition to locations around the Alle-Kiski Valley, Banshee has been filming in and outside a former Westinghouse facility in Churchill, at the Carrie Furnace in Rankin and the former State Correctional Institution-Greensburg, located in Hempfield.

“What was lucky about the way we shot the show was the aesthetic of the show was so tight that we didn't really do a lot of establishing, and because we shot in multiple towns when we were in Charlotte, we never really established a single town of Banshee,” he said. “We have the opportunity now to really sort of inhabit a town and establish it, so we do.”

On Grant Avenue Wednesday, Tropper directed a scene with series lead Antony Starr and Eliza Dushku, who has joined the series this season as an FBI profiler working with Starr's Sheriff Lucas Hood to hunt down a killer.

Starr said the relocation was a huge move for the production, but that he thinks it was good for the show.

“It's been a bit of a teething process finding our feet in a whole new location,” said Starr, his native New Zealand accent unrestrained. “The show feels a lot more urban and a little bit more industrial. Pittsburgh has a lot of grit and a lot of reality and character.”

Out at a house in Armstrong County, Ivana Milicevic was filming an action scene, wielding a very large gun as her character, Carrie Hopewell, repelled an armed assault on her home. Riding back to the base camp in Vandergrift, she shared her thoughts on the area.

“I like it. I like places that have a real summer. I like humidity,” said Milicevic, who makes her home in Los Angeles and New York. “I like that everything is green. I like picking wild blackberries. I like the people.”

Here to stay

Tropper said the “Banshee” was mapped out for five seasons when it was first sold, and that they do have a plan for the end. The remainder of the show's run will be produced here, he said.

“We're not moving again. This is now Banshee,” Tropper said.

In Vandergrift, the Casino Theater is serving as the exterior for the Banshee City Hall; its interior will be a library in Braddock.

An old storefront in Vandergrift, most recently used to store the town's Christmas decorations, has been turned into the Banshee Sheriff's Department, built with filming in mind. Even the alley behind the building has been used.

“Vandergrift offered us the perfect texture for Banshee,” said Adam Targum, an executive producer and writer.

While highly protective of the coming season's story and secrets, all involved said they see Banshee maturing, while not losing the action that fans have come to love.

“I truly believe this is going to be the best season of the show yet,” Targum said.

Servitto said the new season is “mind blowing,” and he's not sure how they'll be able to make a trailer without giving away too much.

“This season is so amazing writing-wise,” he said. “Just come with us. We promise it will be a lot of fun.”

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4701 or brittmeyer@tribweb.com.

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