Weeds (2005-2012)

 

After her husband's sudden death, Nancy Botwin is left with two kids to support in her upper class neighborhood of Agrestic.  She begins selling marijuana and slowly builds an empire while becoming embroiled in a multitude of illegal activities.  Weeds was a hit for Showtime, earning the network's highest ratings upon its debut.  It was one of the earlier antihero series, preceding Dexter (2006-2013), Mad Men (2007-2015), Breaking Bad (2008-2013) and Better Call Saul (2015-2022).  

Location: The Agrestic Sign

Address: Stevenson Ranch Parkway & Holmes Place, Stevenson Ranch, CA

Location: The Botwin House

Address: 26885 Chaucer Place, Stevenson Ranch, CA

Location: Celia Hodes' House

Address: 26004 Singer Place, Stevenson Ranch, CA

Location: Breadsticks & Scones

Address: 25820 Carroll Lane, Newhall, CA

Location: It's A Grind Coffee House

Address: 26531 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA

Locations Master List

The Shining (1980)

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at The Overlook Hotel while it closes for the winter and looks forward to some peace and quiet with his family while he works on his next writing project.  Things quickly take a turn for the worse as the Overlook's deadly past haunts Jack and his family while his mental health deteriorates.  He tries to kill his wife Wendy and son Danny before meeting his own demise.

Based on the Stephen King novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining hit theaters three years after its publication.  The film differs a great deal, sparking some criticism.  While the pacing can lag, the remote lodge is a very creepy setting.  Jack Nicholson gives an incredible performance as the tortured Jack Torrance.  Speaking of torture, co-star Shelley Duvall's experience was described as such due to Kubrick's perfectionism.  The sequel Doctor Sleep (2019) was released almost 40 years later.

Location: The Overlook Hotel Exterior

Address: 27500 E Timberline Road, Government Camp, OR

The Timberline Lodge was used in just a few establishing shots.  The exterior scenes were actually constructed on the backlot of EMI Elstree Studios.  The interiors, also filmed at the studio, were inspired by the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park...

Location Visited: May 2025

Related Locations:

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Locations Master List

Fantasy Island (1977-1984)

 

De plane! De plane!  Welcome to Fantasy Island, where for $50,000, you can live out your fantasy thanks to Mr. Roarke and his assistant Tattoo.  Each week new guests would arrive via a Grumman Widgeon before engaging in a variety of scenarios.  TV guru Aaron Spelling's initial pitch for the series was a joke after being shot down for a number of ideas, but executives loved it.  Two Fantasy Island made-for-tv movies aired before becoming a weekly series.  Establishing shots of Kauai were used for the island, while the cottage was a little closer to home. 

Location: The Cottage

Address: 301 N Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA

LA Aboretum & Botanic Garden

Location Visited: June 2024

Locations Master List

The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

The sleepy town of Mayberry, North Carolina is kept in order by Sheriff Andy Taylor, and at times, undone by Deputy Barney Fife.  A widow, Andy raises his son Opie with help of his Aunt Bee.  An eclectic group of townsfolk include barber Floyd, cousins Goober and Gomer and Mayor Pike.  

The Andy Griffith Show was a ratings success during its entire run, even ranking in the top for the final season.  It was a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show/Make Room For Daddy.  The series won Don Knotts five Emmy Awards.  Of the 240 episodes produced, 159 aired in black & white and 90 in color.  The show is well-remembered for it's opening theme and sequence with Andy and Opie heading toward the fishin' hole.      




Location: Myers Lake

Address: 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA

If you park at the Eugene & Michael Rosenfeld Auditorium, it is a short walk off Franklin Canyon Drive as it loops around...

Sam and Paul's deaths from Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)  and The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) camping grounds were also filmed around this area.

Location Visited: February 2025

Locations Master List

 

Head Of The Class (1986-1991)

 

Class is in session for a group of gifted students attending the Individual Honors Program at Manhattan's Millard Fillmore High School.  Out-of-work actor and substitute history teacher Charlie Moore's initial roll call consisted of Maria Borges, Arvid Engen, Darlene Merriman, Simone Foster, Jawaharlal Choundhury, Alan Pinkard, Eric Mardian, Sarah Nevins, Dennis Blunden and Janice Lazaratto.  Charlie eventually became their full-time teacher and pushed his students to think.  Head Of The Class holds the distinction of being the first U.S. sitcom to film in the Soviet Union with a two-part episode "Mission to Moscow."  Later seasons saw the student roster change a bit and Charlie's acting career finally taking off, causing him to depart before the final season.  Howard Hessemen, formerly of WKRP in Cincinatti (1978-1982) fame, felt the series had drifted away from what was promised and left the show.  He was replaced with Billy Connolly, who received his own spin-off, Billy, that further explored his personal life.  Head Of The Class saw a short-lived revival in 2021.

Location: Millard Fillmore High School

Address: 40 Irving Place, New York, NY

Gramercy Arts High School

Location Visited: January 2025

Location Master List

The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (1994)

 

East coast rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls, was born and raised in Brooklyn.  Juicy, the first single off his debut album, describes his tough upbringing.  The song samples the instrumental and some lyrics from Mtume's 1983 hit Juicy Fruit.  For the video, Biggie is seen on St. James and Fulton Streets where he grew up, showing his ascent from poverty to the lap of luxury.

Location: Notorious B.I.G's Townhouse

Address: 208 St. James Place, Brooklyn, NY

Location: Street Corner

Address: 932 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 

Location: Running Down The Street

Address: 920 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY

Location: Subway Station & Street Light Pole

Address: next to 910 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 

Location: Strolling Down The Street

Address: 969 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY

The Crown Fried Chicken awning makes it difficult to get an exact matching shot.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s childhood home is located at 226 St. James Place, just down the street from the these spots...

Locations Visited: December 2024

Locations Master List