Don’t be alarmed by those Capitol cops outside St. Edward’s, er, St. Peter’s, in Morristown

Capitol police? In Morristown? Don't worry--it's part of a TV series, 'Ways & Means,' Jan. 25, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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What have they done with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church ?

And why are Capitol police parked outside?

Passersby may have wondered on Monday. St. Peter’s has been part of the Morristown scene since 1827. Yet the sign outside the Gothic edifice insisted this was St. Edward the Confessor Sacred Heart Church.

RECHRISTENED:
St. Peter’s has become St. Edward’s, for the pilot of ‘Ways & Means,’ a CBS pilot, Jan. 25, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

And those Capitol police vehicles, and the Washington DC news van, on Maple Avenue?

Alas, this was real fake news.

A crew was preparing for filming of Ways & Means, the pilot for a CBS series starring Patrick Dempsey (a.k.a. neurosurgeon Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd of Grey’s Anatomy) and Amanda Warren (Madam Secretary, NCIS: New Orleans, FBI).

Amanda Warren will play Jerlene Brooks, a former community organizer and progressive activist, in ‘Ways & Means,’ reports Variety.
Patrick Dempsey

Dempsey plays a Congressman “who has lost faith in politics (and) finds himself working secretly with an idealistic young Congresswoman…from the opposing party to subvert the hopelessly gridlocked system he helped create,” according to Variety.

Troian Bellisario. Photo by Ron Brown

The cast also includes Troian Bellisario, best known for Pretty Little Liars, reports IMDB.

Originally titled The Whip, Ways & Means is co-written by Republican political consultant Mike Murphy and Ed Redlich, showrunner for SEAL Team, notes the trade publication Deadline.

Scenes will be shot inside and outside the church over the next couple of days, said the Rev. Anne Thatcher, the new rector.

A CBS location scout called her last month, about two weeks after her arrival at St. Peter’s, asking for a tour.

“I met some of the crew and we walked through the spaces. They talked a little bit about the pilot, and then they said all right, we’ll be in touch. I thought, you just never know,” she said.

FAKE NEWS! For real. This is a prop for ‘Ways & Means,’ a TV pilot shooting in Morristown, Jan. 25, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“Within a couple days they phoned up and said, ‘You’re the pick for this particular scene.’ And it took off from there.”

St. Peter’s Rector Anne Thatcher and Laszlo, Jan. 25, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Fees from the filming will buy cameras for live-streaming worship services, Thatcher said.

The rector was told the production also is shooting in Newark and Trenton.

While she’s not sure how its scout found St. Peter’s, the place has attracted prior attention from the entertainment industry: Actor Matthew Broderick gave Christmas readings when his sister Janet was rector.

Ways & Means will be shooting scenes for a memorial service, Thatcher believes.

So far, the minister and her playful Irish doodle, Laszlo, have not been tapped for any cameos.

“That would have been fun!” Thatcher said.

Production crew loads gear into St. Peter’s, ahead of shooting for ‘Ways & Means,’ Jan. 25, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

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