Ninth Street has long served as one of the major hubs of commerce and civic activity in Durham. From its inception as one of Durham's first and longest continuously-operating business districts, it has carved a distinctive place in the city's history - a place with a unique mix of college students, neighborhood residents, quirky shop business owners, and independent artists. But unlike many other parts of Durham memorialized in movies (good and bad), I could not find any references to filming taking place on Ninth Street itself.
Well, things are about to change with a new television show called the "Pitch" (AMC), which pits two advertising agencies against each other in an effort to win a potential client. The first episode features Durham-based McKinney company against Los Angeles agency, WDCW. Both companies are chasing Subway, a fast-food franchise. McKinny won the competition and the winning advertisement, called “Freestyle Breakfast,” was filmed at 705 Ninth Street (a Subway franchise) on Ninth Street in Durham as Lethal rapped his way through the line at the restaurant.
The show premiers on AMC on April 30 at 9:00 pm EST. You can see the episode featuring Ninth Street subway here. The article from the Herald Sun describing the show and McKinney's win is reprinted after the break.
