It doesn't take much to get a key to the city these days. Just make a sitcom with the word "Tucson" in the title, show up in town for a premiere of the first episode, and you're golden.
That's the route actor Tyler Labine and producer-actor Justin Berfield took.
The duo - you may have seen Labine on the show "Reaper" and remember Berfield as Reese from "Malcolm in the Middle" - will be flying into town on March 10 to attend the premiere of the first two episodes of "Sons of Tucson" at the University of Arizona's Gallagher Theater.
Mayor Bob Walkup will present them with a key to the city.
"This is my first one, and I'm really excited," Berfield said about the key in a recent telephone interview. "I only had to create the show, put the title of the city in it and I'm honored. . . . I haven't been offered one of these. I'm sort of excited to see what I can do with it - what I can get with it."
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"Sons of Tucson" is about three brothers who move from New Jersey to Tucson after their father is convicted of financial crimes. They set up shop at one of their father's properties and hire a man to pretend he's their father.
The show will debut on Fox on March 14 in the 8:30 p.m. time slot, after "Family Guy."
The series was shot entirely in the Los Angeles area, but it includes stock-footage shots of Tucson for scene transitions.
Shelli Hall of the Tucson Film Office said no one at Fox asked about shooting in Tucson.
"They never inquired about shooting here, but I contacted them when I heard about the pilot," Hall said. "They explained their budget restrictions."
Berfield said he hopes to film an episode in Tucson for the second season. He said there was no rhyme or reason for selecting Tucson; he has been here only once, as a teenager, to see a concert. But he said, "It's sort of the opposite of New Jersey."
Surely there will be many who greet Berfield and Labine as heroes, but accountant Caron Mitchell will not be among them.
Mitchell, who offers consulting services to low-budget local filmmakers, said giving the key to the city to the "Sons of Tucson" crew is a slap in the face to locals.
"We have so many really dedicated, hardworking filmmakers in this city who are nameless for so long and end up working in New Mexico and California because there isn't enough work here. One of those people should be acknowledged instead," Mitchell said. "We're giving the keys to the city to guys that I don't know if they've ever been here."
Mitchell said she hopes the show fails and will refuse to watch it, and she'll try to persuade friends to do the same because the show "eliminates opportunities for projects truly based on Tucson."
Berfield promised the show won't take cheap shots at Tucson the way the satirical film "Hamlet 2" did. He said his brief time in the city - he and Labine will fly in and out of Tucson on March 10 - will color his perspective for the future of the show.
"I'm absolutely, definitely looking forward to looking around and meeting people," he said, "and getting a personal feel for the city."
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
