On the trail of your favorite gay-friendly series!

Mar. 31 2014

by Jordan Grevet

Desperate Housewives: the mythical Wisteria Lane

Wisteria Lane. This name alone is very evocative for anyone who watches Desperate Housewives. It is in this street that the four heroines of the series have evolved for seven seasons now.

If in the series, Wisteria Lane is located in the (fictional) town of Fairview, it is actually at Universal Studios, in Hollywood, that you have to go to find the street where Bree, Gabrielle, Susan and Lynette live

Desperate Housewives is indeed shot in a set of the famous theme park, more precisely on Colonial Street, a (fake) street lined with pretty colonial-style pavilions and which has been used as a set for many movies and series for 60 years. If no one actually lives in these houses, it is possible to visit the set simply by paying the entrance fee for Universal Studios.

Gossip Girl: the upscale neighborhoods of New York

New York City, where the action of Gossip Girl takes place, is at least as important as the rest of the plot. The Big Apple is a character in its own right, along with Serena, Blair, Nate and Chuck, whose every move is scrutinized by Gossip Girl herself.

The protagonists, from the golden youth of New York, evolve mainly in the Upper East Side, a wealthy neighborhood in the northeast of Manhattan Island, once known as the "Silk Stocking District". In addition to Central Park, the characters often meet at the New York Palace Hotel or on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, also called the "Met". Chuck Bass inherits the Empire Hotel, located on the Upper West Side, upon the death of his father.

Less well off, Rufus Humphrey and his children, Dan and Jenny, live in a loft in Brooklyn, another borough of New York, located across the river from Manhattan.

The Walkers, the dysfunctional family at the heart of Brothers & Sisters, make their home in Pasadena, a city northeast of Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is here that matriarch Nora owns a large, luxurious home where her five children, Sarah, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin and Justin, have grown up. Although Brothers & Sisters is shot in a studio, Nora Walker's home, the exterior of which is seen in almost every episode (pictured below), does exist and is located at 1717 Lombardy Road in Pasadena.

In addition to Pasadena, the series takes place, in a broad sense, in the "Greater Los Angeles", that is to say the vast agglomeration of the City of Angels. Other places mentioned in the series include Ojai, a town surrounded by mountains and hills in Ventura County, where the Walkers own their small family business, Ojai Foods.

Grey's Anatomy: Seattle, its lakes and mountains

When watching Grey's Anatomy, even with a distracted eye, it is impossible not to know in which city in the United States the characters evolve. The references to Seattle, where the series takes place, are multiple, starting with the name of the (fictitious) hospital where Meredith and her friends work: the Seattle Grace Hospital.

Among the emblematic figures of the largest city in the state of Washington that we find in the series: the Space Needle, a high futuristic skyscraper, and the famous "ferry boats", the boats that connect the different islands of the Pacific coast.

If Grey's Anatomy is shot in Los Angeles, California, the actors move several times a year to Seattle and its surroundings to shoot on location. Fans of the show will remember Derek and Mark's little getaway, hunting in one of the mountain ranges in the area

As for Meredith's house, whose exterior is regularly seen, it is located at 303 W Comstock Street, in the Queen Ann Hill neighborhood, one of the highest points in Seattle (photo below)

Vampire Diaries: Hollywood moves to Georgia

Let's be honest: if we watch Vampire Diaries, it's not so much for its teenage plot as for the two extremely sexy male protagonists. But the vampire series has another asset: its dark and anxiety-provoking atmosphere, important to the story, which it owes mainly to its location.

While Vampire Diaries is set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the series is actually shot in the town of Covington, located in Newton County, Georgia. Covington has been featured in numerous films and series since the 1970s, earning it the nickname "Hollywood of the South."

It is in this city that the cemetery seen in Vampire Diaries is located, but also the clock tower of the famous Newton County Courthouse, which is regularly seen in the series (photo below). The house of Elena, the heroine of the series, is located at 2104 Floyd St NE, still in Covington.

Cougar Town: Florida and California, it's kif-kif !

Contrary to what its name seems to suggest, Cougar Town is not a city but simply the title of Courteney Cox's new series, whose character is on a quest to date younger men. Cougar Town is actually set in the fictional town of Gulf Haven, in the very real Sarasota County, Florida.

While Florida is commonly referred to as the "Sunshine State" because of its sunny climate, it is in another state with a generous climate, California, thatCougar Town is filmed. The series, like most American films and series, is set in the suburbs of Los Angeles, more precisely in Culver City

Cougar Town is mainly shot in Culver Studios, but the pretty little cul-de-sac residence of Jules, Grayson, Ellis and Bobby, does exist. The various houses are located a few meters from each other on Lamarr Avenue, at the corner of Sony Pictures Studios. This is where the actors come to shoot the exterior scenes. With a bit of luck, you might even spot Courteney Cox!