Column: TV series to put Oceanside on the map — again

Oceanside got 15 seconds of international fame when Tom Cruise, as Maverick, rode to his girlfriend Charlie’s cottage during a stunning sunset, with “Take My Breath Away” playing in the background.

The Victorian beach house featured in “Top Gun” remains an Oceanside sightseeing attraction since being transformed into the aviation-themed High Pie shop.

“Animal Kingdom,” a TNT TV drama series that aired from 2016 to 2022 and starred Ellen Barkin as the matriarch of a crime family, was based in Oceanside.

Then, last July, Netflix released “Purple Hearts,” centered on the relationship of an aspiring singer, who works in an Oceanside bar, and a Camp Pendleton Marine.

Oceanside is about to be in the limelight again when an animated series “Hailey’s On It!,” debuts at 8 p.m. Thursday on the Disney Channel and Disney XD. The next day, it will be available for streaming on Disney+, and Walt Disney Records is releasing a digital soundtrack with six original tunes from the show.

USC grads Devin Bunje and Nick Stanton created the series. It highlights the adventures of energetic Oceanside High School teen-turned-superheroine Hailey Banks, who has suddenly been entrusted by a scientist from the future with a to-do list of unusual and extremely challenging tasks to save humanity.

Nick Stanton (left) and Devin Bunje are co-creators and co-executive producers of Disney’s new “Hailey’s On It!” animated series.

(Craig Sjodin/Disney)

Neither Bunje nor Stanton, co-executive producers, lives in San Diego County. They grew up in colder climes, but both spent time in North County as kids. Bunje met his wife-to-be at a friend’s beach birthday party in Carlsbad.

They agreed that Oceanside would be the perfect setting for their fictitious heroine.

“We wanted to pick the most ideal world worth fighting for — one of the themes of our show,” says Bunje. He notes that this cool beach town actually is named Oceanside in the script, although it incorporates a few elements of other coastal beach communities.

Few Oceanside residents were even aware this was in the works because, unlike “Top Gun,” “Purple Hearts” and “Animal Kingdom,” this series didn’t require film crews and cordoned-off streets.

Nevertheless, researchers studied the city, its landmarks, architecture, plant life and traditions, along with other sites and attractions in the region to shape Hailey’s life and activities.

Oceanside Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Ashton says, while he was unaware of Oceanside’s new role and hadn’t been contacted by producers, he welcomes the attention.

“Anything that brings positive publicity to the name of our city hopefully will generate curiosity and cause people to dig a little deeper to find out more about Oceanside.”

Although artistic license is taken by the animators, the Oceanside Pier is clearly depicted, as are Oceanside High School, beaches, coastal cliffs, wall murals and other iconic landmarks. The opening episode focuses on a fish taco festival at the pier.

A beach boardwalk scene from the “Hailey’s On It!” Disney series premiering June 8. Its teen heroine lives in Oceanside.

(Disney Channel)

Hailey’s best friend and adventure partner is Scott, a skateboarder as daring as Hailey is cautious and risk averse.

They go surfing, visit Carlsbad and other beach towns, travel to Temecula and Catalina Island, attend Hero-Con (think Comic-Con) and have an adventure at an exotic animal reserve that conjures up visions of San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

An Oceanside research trip for the artists and designers planned during early development of the series had to be scrapped when the pandemic broke out.

“Hailey’s On It!” has been four years getting to the small screen and has 30 episodes ready to go. After Thursday’s premiere, it will switch to Saturday mornings beginning June 17.

Auli’i Cravalho, an American actress of Polynesian descent, plays Hailey. She voiced Disney’s “Moana” and went on to star in the NBC series “Rise,” the Netflix film “All Together Now” and Hulu’s comedic “Crush.”

Manny Jacinto, the voice of Scott, actually had a cameo in “Top Gun: Maverick” as one of 12 pilots training for Maverick’s death-defying mission.

Bunje and Stanton have been writing together since college. After creating some live action shows, they did the “Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything” for Disney XD TV and the Netflix series, “Prince of Peoria.” But this is the first animation series they’ve both created and executive produced.

Having Oceanside featured in a TV series or feature film is a definite boost to tourism, says Leslee Gaul, the CEO of Visit Oceanside.

The “Top Gun” cottage with Tom Cruise’s replica motorcycle out front is a popular sightseeing attraction. Visitors often ask for directions to film locations featured in the “Animal Kingdom” series, which filmed at the Real Surf Shop, Larry’s Beach Club, a house on the Strand and various beach community sites.

Expedia recently published a survey of 24,000 global travelers saying that two-thirds were inspired to visit locations they saw on TV and in movies, and 39 percent followed through with those trips.

There is even a name for this TV tourism phenomenon — set-jetting. It has been identified as a top travel trend for 2023, says Gaul. And it’s no surprise, considering sequestered Americans spent their time binge-watching TV shows during the pandemic.

In fact, on the agenda of Visit Oceanside’s upcoming strategic planning session in July is how to leverage such exposure for tourism. Gaul notes that the bureau’s sightseeing trail map of “Animal Kingdom” shooting locations long has been among its top 10 most viewed pages.

The tourism agency is revamping its website now and adding a trail map for filming locations in “Purple Hearts.”

Meanwhile, another show debuts this month that highlights Oceanside.

A karaoke competition and a date on Season 20 of “The Bachelorette” series, which premieres June 26 on ABC TV, will transport viewers to the harbor, pier and beachfront amphitheater, which may look familiar.

It’s the same stage used in “Purple Hearts” and as the setting of the cheer squad competition in the 2000 comedy “Bring It On,” starring Kirsten Dunst.

Oceanside definitely is on a roll.