The Morning Show Filming Locations Revealed: An Inside Look Beyond the Screens

Summary

The Morning Show is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, even though it is set in New York City.

611 Place and other filming locations in Los Angeles are cleverly transformed into New York City settings on the show. Additionally, certain scenes and exterior shots are authentically captured on location in New York City to fully convey the essence of the setting.

The Morning Show revolves around a popular morning news program in New York City called The Morning Show (TMS), but most of the show is not filmed there. The first season of the Apple TV+ drama begins with one co-anchor being fired due to allegations of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement. This leads to the other co-anchor adjusting to working with a new onscreen partner. The following two seasons continue to touch on real-world topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, politics, and #MeToo.

The cast of The Morning Show includes Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Néstor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Desean Terry, Jack Davenport, Steve Carell, Greta Lee, Julianna Margulies, Nicole Beharie, and Jon Hamm. The talented cast and crew have primarily filmed the Apple TV+ series in two cities.

Safari Inn, Burbank, California

The Morning Show is primarily set in New York City, where the fictional news program, TMS, is based. However, throughout the series, the characters often travel outside of the city and even globally for work-related purposes. In one specific scene of season 1, the episode takes place at the Safari Inn in Burbank, California, which is located just east of Los Angeles.

Jennifer Aniston's character, Alex, stays at the Safari Inn while reporting on the Los Angeles fires in season 1 of The Morning Show. This location was chosen for filming the scene, as stated by The Cinemaholic. The Safari Inn in Burbank is a popular choice for various television series and movie productions. Notable productions that have filmed at this hotel include True Romance, Apollo 13, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Barnaby Jones, among others. Due to its distinctive features, the hotel is easily recognizable onscreen.

The 611 Place, Los Angeles, California

The Morning Show filmed most of its scenes, including those set in New York City, in Los Angeles, California. The UBA network in the series is represented by 611 Place, a 42-story, 620-foot-tall building located in downtown Los Angeles. This impressive structure serves as a stand-in for a skyscraper in the bustling city of New York. Not only is 611 Place featured in The Morning Show, but it has also been featured in other productions such as Mr. Mom, Uncommon Valor, Con Air, The Day After Tomorrow, and Along Came Polly. Despite its real-world location in Downtown Los Angeles, fans of the show recognize it as the iconic UBA headquarters.

Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, California

The Morning Show's cast and crew filmed all scenes that couldn't be captured in Los Angeles or New York City at Sony Pictures Studios. This production studio, located in Culver City, California, west of Downtown Los Angeles, provided multiple sets for the Apple TV+ drama series. The complex was used for most interior scenes throughout all three seasons of the show. For instance, the crew built offices in the UBA network building, as well as a few characters' apartments and homes, all of which were filmed at Sony Pictures Studios.

Sony Pictures Studios, situated in Los Angeles County, California, is a renowned historic television and film production studio. Originally known as Inceville Studios when it opened in 1912, it has been home to major entertainment companies like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lorimar-Telepictures. Sony acquired the complex in the 1990s. Alongside The Morning Show, numerous popular series and movies have been filmed at this Culver City location, including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The King of Queens, One Day at a Time, Party of Five, Insecure, Shark Tank, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, The Amazing Spider-Man, Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Men in Black, Just Go with It, and many others.

Los Angeles, California

The central filming location for all three seasons of The Morning Show was Los Angeles, California, despite the show being set in New York City. It is common for productions to use different cities as settings for their television series or movies. Therefore, it is not surprising that most scenes in The Morning Show were actually filmed on the West Coast instead of the East Coast. Unfortunately, the exact locations of all scenes in the show are not known, such as 611 Place or Safari Inn. However, The Cinemaholic has revealed a few Los Angeles spots that were used as New York City locations for the series. According to the source, the scene in season 1 where Cory Ellison, played by Billy Crudup, drinks at a bar was filmed at the Gallery Bar and Cognac Room in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Additionally, the first meeting between Cory and Bradley, played by Reese Witherspoon, was filmed at the Cicada Restaurant and Lounge in Downtown Los Angeles for season 1.

The Morning Show season 2 faced challenges during its principal photography due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TheWrap reported that the entire filming took place in Los Angeles. With limited options for locations, the production team had to think creatively. They successfully transformed a courtyard in Downtown Los Angeles into the vibrant setting of New Orleans' French Quarter. Additionally, they utilized a Metrolink station in Anaheim, which served as a convincing train station in Wuhan, China. Furthermore, a Pasadena estate was chosen to depict Steve Carell's character, Mitch's Italian villa.

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

In The Morning Show season 3, a new character named Paul Marks, played by Jon Hamm, accompanies Alex (played by Jennifer Aniston), as they venture to Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Set photos from an upcoming episode reveal that the actors, along with the crew of the Apple TV+ television series, actually traveled to this neighborhood for filming. This decision was made due to the challenge of replicating the unique atmosphere of Coney Island elsewhere in the world.

New York City, New York

The majority of scenes for The Morning Show were filmed in Los Angeles, but certain shots were required to be filmed in New York City to accurately represent the series' setting. The city's iconic landmarks, including Times Square, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center, can be seen in the background of numerous episodes of The Morning Show.