Dennis Quaid starring in new AMC ‘Thunder Road’ series shooting in Georgia

“Thunder Road” explores the fictional Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family’s ties to the Southern hill country roots that shaped it, according to AMC.

Quaid will play Duane Whitlock aka “The Wrecking Ball,” described as “a towering figure who built a racing empire from a legacy of moonshine runs and dirt tracks and refuses to let it die.”

The series is using the same studio as “The Walking Dead,” which resided at Riverwood for more than a decade and helped turn Senoia into a tourist town.

AMC has partnered with NASCAR for this series.

“We are thrilled to team up with NASCAR, a world-class partner that continues to engage and entertain their deeply loyal fans for nearly 80 years,” Dan McDermott, chief content officer of AMC Global Media and president of AMC Studios, said in a news release. “And in the ultimate dream casting, we’re fortunate to have the legendary Dennis Quaid lead this captivating series. This show will be a nonstop thrill ride for viewers.”

Quaid has shot at least three films over the years in metro Atlanta, including the 1980 summer camp comedy “Gorp,” the 2011 remake of “Footloose” and the 2023 Amazon faith-based film “On a Wing and a Prayer,” written by Atlantan Brian Egeston.

The film business in Georgia has shifted down to a slower gear the past two years with fewer scripted TV series and big-budget films as other states and countries ramped up their film and TV tax credit systems. People in the business especially like TV series because of their potential for longevity and relative job stability for the workers. Atlanta has a few like ABC’s “Will Trent,” Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias” and CBS’s “Beyond the Gates.”

The last scripted series that shot out of Riverwood Studios was a promising horror comedy “The Bondsman” starring Kevin Bacon that debuted last year but was quickly axed despite good reviews.