EASTPORT – A Los Angeles-based production company has transformed the look and feel of this tiny, former sardine-packing city as it spent months shooting a pilot for a possible television series.

The crew of Final Stretch Productions began arriving in Eastport in late February.

Some of the company’s principal filmmakers were recently involved in making “Fear,” a reality-based TV series seen on MTV, but exactly what they were shooting in Eastport has remained under wraps.

But for people in Eastport, an economically depressed city of 1,900 that became the town of “Sunrise” for the series, the story will have a happy ending.

Eastport benefited from a sudden and welcome infusion of cash as the production went on. The 150-member crew ate meals, rented motel rooms, bought supplies and hired skilled craftsmen.

“If you wanted a job, you could get it, and unofficially we probably have 30 percent unemployment here,” said Chris Brown, 41, owner of S.L. Wadsworth & Son, a hardware store on Water Street.

“The downtown buildings are three-quarters empty. But while they were here, streets were lit and sidewalks were bustling.”

Fictional businesses were created in the empty storefronts. The name Sunrise was plastered on light poles, police cars and town buildings.

The plot and concept of the series remained a mystery to most local residents, as Final Stretch Productions required those hired by the film company to sign confidentiality agreements.

“I’ve only heard bits and pieces of what went on, but my take is it’s some kind of reality mystery,” said Nancy Bishop, owner of the Wa-Co Diner, where many of the film crew ate.

“But, the way they filmed six or seven locations at the same time, you really couldn’t tell.”

Leslie Radakovich, supervising producer for the production, said the company filmed a pilot for a possible TV series, but it had not been sold to a network yet.

The story is a murder mystery shot in a documentary style, combining the “real elements” of Eastport with the fictional murder mystery, she said. About 25 principal actors and additional local extras were used.

Rita Norton, a Wa-Co waitress who worked as an extra, declined to discuss the plot.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” said Norton, adding that the crew became “like family” to her. “But I’m not going to Hollywood, I can tell you that.”

Gordon Cassidy, one of three executive producers on the shoot, said Eastport was chosen because it’s small and quiet.

“We needed a place where we could have almost constant access to locations,” Cassidy said. “We saw some other nice towns on the coast of Maine, but they were too gentrified. People paying big money for houses on the water wouldn’t give us this kind of welcome.”