Hollywood Returns to Hatboro for 'Do No Harm'

The day's first rays of light with Hatboro Cemetery as a backdrop served as a perfect setting to film scenes of a new NBC drama, "Do No Harm."

Film crews were seeking a "very specific type of early morning light," according to Rudi Fischer, a 1998 Hatboro-Horsham High School graduate and key location scout for the show, which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. 

Even before the sun rose Thursday, bleary-eyed crews trickled into Hatboro Baptist Church for breakfast before heading out to the cemetery before 7 a.m. for what the show's location manager, Demian Resnick, told Patch amounts to a flashback scene for one of the season's final episodes, which is expected to air at the end of April or early May.

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Fischer, who also helped with scouting for "Cold Case" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," said that even though he's already seen the pilot for "Do No Harm," he'll "definitely be watching" the show tonight with the rest of his department. 

Hatboro Baptist Church Pastor Doug Stratton opened up the church's fellowship hall for holding, changing and feeding both during last week's filming for 130 people and on Thursday for roughly 80 people. 

"I see this as a way to say to Hatboro 'we want to do all we can,' " Stratton told Patch as crews hurriedly ate breakfast just before 7 a.m. Thursday. "It's been a joy to have them here."

Starring Steven Pasquale and "The Cosby Show" mom, Phylicia Rashad, the show is set in Philadelphia. Neither of the lead actors or the rest of the "adult cast" were in Hatboro Thursday, according to Stratton, because the day's scenes were to revolve around flashbacks. Extras, including a New York woman who is 5 feet tall and told Patch she typically "stands in" for children, made up the cast for the day's filming.

During last week's filming, which spanned from about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Stratton said the church's congregation was able to have lunch with cast and crew. Seven trays of leftover food were then taken to Valley Youth House, a group home in Warminster, he said. 

"Last week, before I could leave the building, the kids descended on it," Stratton said. 

Besides providing jobs for more than 100 area people in the film industry, Stratton said having a TV episode filmed locally means a boost for Hatboro's economy. 

The folks at Lochel's Bakery on York Road in Hatboro seemed grateful for the filming in a recent Facebook post. 

"BIG Thanks to the new show on NBC Do No Harm for stopping by Lochel's Bakery and featuring our goodies for the show," reads the post. "Be on the lookout for cookies from Lochel's Bakery."

Viewers will likely have to wait until spring to get a glimpse of the those locally made treats. 

Are you planning to watch the Hatboro-centric episode of "Do No Harm"? Tell us in the comments.