Updated: This version of the story contains a further comment from Bill Vassar.

Two television series set to film their inaugural seasons in Wilmington could earn up to $13.8 million in state film and entertainment grants, according to a news release Friday from the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Commerce secretary John Skvarla III and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. announced in the release that Good Behavior and Six will receive grants from the program, which has $30 million in available funds for the current fiscal year. The grant program, which replaced the state’s earlier tax credit incentives program that expired Dec. 30, 2014, “provides financial assistance to attract productions that will stimulate economic activity and create jobs in the state,” the release stated. Companies receive no money up front and must meet direct in-state spending requirements to qualify for grant funds.

Good Behavior, a TNT production that shot its pilot in the Wilmington area in October, was given the green light for 10 episodes. It will be eligible for up to $6.6 million in grant funds, depending on its in-state qualified spend, the release stated.

Six, which got the go-ahead from the History channel for an eight-episode first season without shooting a pilot, could receive as much as $7.2 million in grant monies, again, depending on how much the project spends in the state.

The two projects combined are expected to have direct in-state spending of more than $57 million, while creating about 2,900 job opportunities in the state, the commerce department’s release stated. That financial projection tallies with an estimate from Bill Vassar, executive vice president at EUE/Screen Gems studios in Wilmington, who said earlier this month that the two productions would likely account for $55 million in spending in the greater Wilmington area in the first six months of 2016.

Skvarla, in the release, alluded to the value of attracting television series, whose production operations last longer than those of movies, and which can return to a location for subsequent seasons. Wilmington has seen long relationships in the past with series Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill, and more recently with Under the Dome and Sleepy Hollow.

“TV series present the chance to establish long-term relationships and recurring jobs in our state,” Skvarla said.

Reached for comment Friday, Vassar said "It's good for our area that the two productions decided to come here because it keeps lots of people working and lots of money going into local businesses through the middle of the year."

Good Behavior is based on the best-selling Letty Dobesh books by Blake Crouch. British actress Michelle Dockery, known for her portrayal of Lady Mary in the BBC-PBS hit series Downton Abbey, plays Dobesh, newly released from prison and determined to stay out of trouble until she overhears about a murder plot with a hired hitman.

Six, from A+E Studios, Harvey Weinstein, The Weinstein Company and Academy Award nominee William Broyles, is a contemporary military drama inspired by current events. The series follows Navy SEAL Team Six, whose 2014 mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working with the terrorists, the release stated.

“We are excited to have two new series call North Carolina home and even more excited to assist in providing the state’s well-trained crew base and talent these opportunities,” Guy Gaster, director of the N.C. Film Office, said in the release. “These projects will continue a long tradition of excellence in filmmaking in our state.”