California flag at Decatur courthouse? It’s movie magic

If you happened by the Decatur square Wednesday and wondered why California’s bear-on-red-and-white flag tussled on the square’s flagpole, rather than Georgia’s state banner — no, Decatur hasn’t seceded to the west.

A Lifetime TV crew this week will be filming a courtroom dramedy set in small-town California in which Decatur’s Old Court House will play the part of — you guessed it — an old small-town courthouse.

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Marcus K. Garner/mgarner@ajc.com

A California flag flew at the courthouse in Decatur.

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“Drop Dead Diva” is a scheduled to air on the Lifetime cable channel next fall starring comedienne Margaret Cho.

Crews will be filming through Friday this week, and likely into the summer, said Melissa Forgey, executive director of the DeKalb History Center, that is housed in the courthouse.

“Anything that brings film crews to DeKalb County brings money to DeKalb,” Forgey said, referring to the benefit of the Welcome to Georgia film industry tax credit act passed last year.

A crew member working on the set Wednesday acknowledged that the tax benefit is what drew the filming of the show to Georgia.

Decatur has seen a lot of film action lately, including the upcoming Woody Harrelson movie “Zombie Land” shot at an area gas station and another spooky flick shot at the Decatur cemetery.

So if you’re on the square in the next couple of days and see the California flag, just imagine you’re in Hollywood.