WITH FAME COMES FORTUNE FX'S 'THE RICHES' JUST 1 OF 7 TV SHOWS FILMING LOCALLY AND BRINGING BIG BUCKS.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS

Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - In the new TV show "The Riches," Santa Clarita stands in for someplace else -- again.

For years, the Santa Clarita Valley has been a kind of local version of Canada's "Hollywood North," providing an alternative to shooting in Los Angeles without film crews having to jet out of state.

But the city almost never plays itself on screen. Valencia did have the honor of getting nuked recently in an episode of "24," a show that is shot in Santa Clarita and makes reference to places such as Newhall.

Now, a new show from the FX Network is bringing it all back home to Santa Clarita -- sort of.

"The Riches," a dark comedy shot on location and at a sound stage in Santa Clarita, is about a family of itinerant con artists who, by a twist of fate, land in a house outside Baton Rouge, La.

All about the American Dream 

"It relates to Santa Clarita as a concept, as the exurbs, the new Republican kind of suburban mom kind of story," producer Iain Paterson said. "Which makes it very relevant, very contemporary."

Gated neighborhoods and "McMansions" figure prominently in the show, Paterson said. So does the compulsion to get ahead and the American Dream.

"Most of America aspires to live in someplace like this," said Paterson, who is originally from Great Britain along with the show's two stars, Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver.

In the show, Izzard and Driver start off living in a recreational vehicle with their children. Their characters are patterned after "Irish Travelers," a nomadic group, and in the show the family prides itself on scamming the law-abiding.

But life in their new upscale digs is based on a lie, as they assume the identities of the dead residents of the suburban house they move into.

Filming in valley a big business

As a set for the show, producers created a "traveler" camp of beat-up trailers west of Interstate5 off Pico Canyon Road. The show also shot at the River's End RV park on Soledad Canyon Road.

In the show, Izzard's character pretends to be a lawyer and works for a company called Panco that is involved in shady real estate deals.

Izzard, who was in the movie "Ocean's Twelve," is an actor and stand-up comedian known for onstage cross-dressing.

He jokingly referred to Santa Clarita as "Santa Concreta" in an article on the British Web site for Guardian Unlimited.

"The Riches" is just one of seven TV shows now being shot in the Santa Clarita Valley, said Jason Crawford, the city's liaison to the film and TV industry.

And all of the production has brought its own version of "the riches" to the area. An estimated 5percent of Santa Clarita residents work in the high-paying film and TV industry, Crawford said.

Local talent a draw for show

The pilot for "The Riches" was shot in Louisiana, which is where the show is set and where the creator grew up. But despite the tax breaks offered there, the show moved to Santa Clarita because it's easier to find talent in Southern California, Paterson said. With all the local talent and the number of Santa Clarita residents working in the industry, it may only be a matter of time before Santa Clarita turns the lens back on itself.

"It's been really cool that '24' has been talking about Santa Clarita and Valencia on the show," Crawford said. "And I would love to see, just like 'The OC' gave popularity to Orange County, I would love to see something scripted for Santa Clarita in the future."

Until then, residents will continue watching the television to see if they recognize any of the scene locations. "The Riches" debuts tonight on the FX Network.

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(1 -- 2) A film crew works on the FX show "The Riches," which shoots scenes at a Santa Clarita sound stage. With all the local filming, Santa Clarita is becoming a local version of Canada's "Hollywood North."

David Crane/Staff Photographer