Georgia-lensed miniseries “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, started streaming last week on HBO Max. Before you binge this true-crime series about a Durham, North Carolina man accused of murdering his wife, learn how Georgia’s small business vendors, stage space, and unique sites all played feature roles.

Partnerships with Small Businesses - Film companies use the services of businesses around the state, contributing to the health of Georgia’s economy and taking advantage of the abundant resources available to them. With the filming of "The Staircase," services from local small business vendors were used to create a more sustainable production.

• Most set pieces were secondhand and rented from local prop houses and returned so they could be reused.

• A local lighting and sound business provided energy-efficient LED lights.

• When the show wrapped, production disposed of assets by donating to local charities, homeless shelters, and to victims of domestic abuse.

• Production was also able to partner with family-owned, Tucker, Georgia-based Cofer Bros. Inc. for set building materials, which were donated after use to organizations that work to repurpose and keep building materials out of landfills.

• Meals were created using locally sourced ingredients from Dekalb Farmer’s Market.

To help aid productions in finding local crew and vendors, the state keeps an updated Georgia production directory.

Wide Variety of Set Locations - Atlanta has the unique position of being known as the “city within the forest.” With an abundance of hidden greenspace and trees that other major cities cannot boast, Atlanta lends itself to a wide variety of shooting locations to fit the needs of productions like “The Staircase,” which required a Southern look for exterior shots.

An executive producer remarked that while Durham is the where most of the events in the series took place, the Film Tax Incentives in Georgia made the state financially more attractive.

Buildings around Atlanta served as set locations: a Georgia State University building was transformed into the Durham County Courthouse, and a Sheraton hotel was commandeered to replicate how a Holiday Inn would have looked in 2011. The production also had to find locations that could double as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Mexico - and Georgia fit the bill.

With resources like the Georgia Film Office’s location search database, property owners in Georgia can submit photos of their home to GA Reel Scout and incoming film companies can easily find the perfect location to match their script.

Abundant Stage Space and Crew - Since the tax incentive was enacted in 2008, stage presence has exploded, and thousands of film industry workers have relocated to the state to take part in some of the largest productions being filmed outside of Hollywood, including the award-winning Netflix series “Stranger Things” and blockbuster hits like “Avengers: End Game.”

The local casting director for “The Staircase” casted 145 roles in the state. This workforce, combined with crew members, equipment houses, truck rentals, support vehicles, and all types of small businesses are all reasons why film companies have Georgia on their mind.

The state is also home to 4.09 million square feet of stage space, with more companies investing in new facilities to meet the growing demand. One company, Cinelease Studios, is looking to expand its Covington, Georgia, operations by adding eight new sound stages by 2023, for a total of 276,000 square feet of stage space.

Georgia has everything film productions need to get their big ideas on the big screen. Want to see for yourself how productions like “The Staircase” use the state’s resources to their advantage? You be the judge: view the miniseries now on HBO Max.

Learn more from behind the scenes: Take a Tour of "The Staircase's" Sustainable Sets 

Check out this video for more highlights: "The Staircase" Filming in Atlanta