'Army Wives' film a fifth season in Charleston

After months of hand-wringing and a dramatic Statehouse plea, it's official: The hit Lifetime series "Army Wives" will return to Charleston to film a fifth season.

Officials with the television show said they expect to start shooting the first of 13 episodes before year's end and to wrap up in May.

In late June, the state Senate voted to keep film-based tax rebates at 20 percent for South Carolina residents' wages and 30 percent for supplies purchased from in-state businesses.

Gov. Mark Sanford had vetoed the proviso, arguing that it raised rates from 15 percent for each rebate and, in doing so, changed state law and violated legislative rules.

Without the incentives, "Army Wives" officials threatened to move the Charleston-based production out of state.

Actresses Catherine Bell and Kim Delaney traveled to the Senate floor, Bell seven months pregnant at the time, to make their case for preserving film industry perks.

"The future of the show really rides on it," Bell said at the time. "We would absolutely move."

In a letter to lawmakers, show officials wrote that the series has contributed more than $120 million in production costs to the local economy since it landed in Charleston in 2006.

Just this year, in filming the fourth season, the show hired 355 employees and 1,101 extras and paid more than $19 million in salaries and wages, the letter said.

Four lead actors and 11 crew members also have purchased homes in South Carolina.

When "Army Wives" chose to film in Charleston, the decision came with a six-year plan based on incentives of 20 percent for wages and 30 percent for supplies.

The show reigns as the most successful series in the Lifetime cable network's 26-year history. This year's fourth season averaged 3.2 million viewers.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594.