Florida guy Clifton Campbell has written for 21 Jump Street, SeaQuest DSV, Law & Order SVU, and Crossing Jordan. He recently wrote a new drama for television.
Sugarloaf is about an ex-cop from Chicago, kicked off the force after his partner shoots him and wrongfully accuses him of having an affair with his wife. With payout in hand, he heads south, and ends up in a subdivision in the Tampa Bay area, where he joins the state police. Mayhem ensues.
The title of the series comes from the name of the fictional subdivision, although there is a Sugarloaf Ridge in Valrico.
The A&E Network ok’d the pilot, and got Matt Passmore to play the lead character. This week, Fox Television Studios began filming in and around Tampa Bay (beaches & golf courses this week, Zephyrhills this weekend). Campbell says he’d like the entire thing be shot locally, however, about half 
of the episode will be filmed in an Atlanta studio. Apparently the great state of Georgia offers a bigger bunch of tax breaks and rebates.
“This is where they want to be … (but) it comes down to a matter of finances,” said Lesley Guthrie of the Tampa Bay Film Commission in Hillsborough County, who is trying to assemble a package of local incentives to make production here more cost-effective.
We hope Sugarloaf catches on, and gives Clifton a chance to show off the Tampa Bay area. But if that happens, we would really love it if the Tampa Bay Film Commission could find a way to convince Fox that the entire series be produced here in the Bay Area. After all, USA Networks’ Burn Notice – another Fox TV Studios joint is produced in Miami…
