By The Jessica Lees Team | Serving the Wildwoods & Cape May County

In July 2026, Deadline broke the news: Lisa McGee - the BAFTA Award-winning creator of Derry Girls, one of the most celebrated comedies of the last decade - has a new show in development at FX and 20th Television. It's called Wildwood. It's set right here.

For anyone who owns property in Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, West Wildwood, Diamond Beach, or anywhere across Cape May County, this is the kind of news that deserves more than a scroll past.

What the Show Is

Wildwood is a comedy series set in the summer of 2000, following a group of Irish college girls who land in Wildwood, New Jersey with, in McGee's own words, "no money, no visas, no plan, no clue." It's being described as a spiritual successor to Derry Girls - McGee's first U.S.-based project, and one that FX reportedly won in a competitive bidding situation. That last detail matters: multiple networks wanted this show. They landed on Wildwood as the setting because there is no place like it.

McGee has described the Wildwoods as a "neon playground" - which is exactly right, and exactly the kind of language that translates into images that make people want to visit. The Doo Wop motels, the boardwalk, the free beaches, the energy of a resort town that has never tried to be anything other than exactly itself. That's what drew a BAFTA-winning writer to set her first American story here rather than in New York, Miami, or anywhere else.

Why This Matters for the Market

Television doesn't just entertain - it drives behavior. When a show puts a place on screen and makes it feel alive, people go. They book rentals. They walk the boardwalk. Some of them start asking what it would cost to own something there.

The pattern is well-documented. The Yellowstone effect brought an estimated 2.1 million additional visitors and $730 million in tourism spending to Montana in a single year. The White Lotus sent bookings in its filming locations surging immediately after each season aired. These aren't anomalies - they're what happens when a real place becomes a character in something people love.

Wildwood on FX puts Cape May County in front of a national and international audience - including a large Irish and UK viewership that already knows and trusts Lisa McGee's voice. The summer 2000 setting means the show will lean into exactly what makes the Wildwoods visually iconic: the neon signs, the Doo Wop architecture, the boardwalk in its full glory. That's free marketing at a scale no tourism budget could purchase.

What It Means Right Now

The show is currently in development, which means production decisions - including where it actually films - are still being made. Cape May County voted just last month to pursue Film Ready designation from the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, positioning the county to formally attract exactly this kind of production. The timing is not a coincidence so much as a convergence.

For owners of vacation rentals in North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach, increased national visibility translates directly into demand. More visitors means higher occupancy, stronger nightly rates, and longer booking windows. For buyers watching this market, the window between "show announced" and "show airs" has historically been one of the better entry points before prices reflect the new attention.

The Wildwoods have always been exceptional. The rest of the country is catching up.

 

The Jessica Lees Team has been watching this market closely - from the Film Ready designation to the FX announcement to what it all means for buyers, sellers, and owners across the Wildwoods and Cape May County. We're here every week, and we're paying attention.

📲 Follow us on social media for real-time updates as the Wildwood series develops and what it means for the local market. 📧 Sign up for our weekly newsletter - Cape May County real estate intelligence, delivered every week, from a team that never misses a story.

The Jessica Lees Team - Your trusted source for real estate expertise across the Wildwoods and Cape May County.