Justified is a Western crime drama television show that made its debut on 16 March 2010 on the FX network. It was created by Graham Yost and is based on Elmore Leonard’s books, particularly “Fire in the Hole,” which features the character Raylan Givens. Raylan Givens, a fierce deputy U.S. Marshal implementing his own brand of justice, is played by Timothy Olyphant. The series centers on the people and culture of the eastern Kentucky Appalachian Mountains, notably Harlan County, where many of the central protagonists grew up. It also includes Lexington, Kentucky, the location of the regional US Marshals office.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is a modern-day version of an Old West lawman from the 19th century. His unorthodox approach to upholding the law makes him a target for criminals and a problem in the eyes of his U.S. Marshals Service senior. Givens is relocated to the Eastern Division of the Kentucky Marshal’s Office, which is situated in Lexington, in response to his heated but “justifiable” quick-draw shooting of mafia hitman Tommy Bucks in Miami. This legal authority includes Harlan County, where Raylan was brought up and which he thought he had managed to escape for good in his youth. But this was just the overview; let’s talk about the Filming Locations of Justified.
Justified Filming Locations
Justified, FX’s highly underrated show sees U.S. Marshal Givens wander around rural Kentucky, socializing with colorful and dark characters in quirky Kentucky mining towns as he aims to prevent their criminal endeavors. Despite working out of the Lexington field office, the character spends the majority of his time in Harlan County. And even if the county and its residents have undoubtedly been exaggerated, the location is still quite genuine. So let’s explore Lexington, the actual Harlan County, and all the other locations.
While the pilot was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s suburbs of Kittanning and Washington, the remaining 38 episodes were filmed in California. The little town of Green Valley, California, frequently serves as a stand-in for Harlan, Kentucky. In the pilot, the new Consol Energy Center is being built, and Pittsburgh’s David L. Rose Convention Center appears onscreen as the small town’s “courthouse.”
Harlan County, Kentucky
The county seat of Harlan County, which has a population of just 1,745, is located in the southeast of Kentucky, about 2.5 hours’ drive from Lexington. This little village is a hub of crime and intrigue in the television series. The area has a long history of bootlegging, and some claim that Mags Bennett from the television series was modeled after the Harlan figure Mag Bailey, who operated her criminal business out of a small roadside shop, exactly like in the show!
Today, visitors to Harlan County should definitely avoid looking for any potential local criminal underworld and instead concentrate on enjoying the stunning scenery with its various forested hills. Just remember that Kittanning, Pennsylvania, substitutes for downtown Harlan on the show, so don’t expect to recognize too many locations from it.
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Raylan’s Field Office
Lexington, the second-largest city in Kentucky, is significantly bigger than Harlan — 174 times bigger, to be precise. How in the world would Raylan have so much time in Harlan? Justified, on the other hand, prefers to spend its time in the Federal Building or at sleazy pubs rather than providing us with many insights on Lexington and its attractions. The real filming of the Lexington scenes for the show takes place in Southern California. Lexington is still the location to go to get a flavor of the real Kentucky culture that the show embodies.
The world’s horse capital, Lexington, takes pride in its blue-grass-fed thoroughbreds and nearby horse farms. To prevent encroachment on the local horse farms, the city has a rather unusual zoning design that restricts urban growth. The Keeneland thoroughbred racetrack is one place where Lexington’s passion for horses can be seen coming together.
Production Halt On Timothy Olyphant’s New Show
Due to a shooting incident and a car accident close to the Chicago location where the new FX show was being filmed, production was halted early for the week. On Wednesday night, two vehicles whose drivers were exchanging gunfire broke through the barricades placed at the perimeter of the shooting in Chicago’s Douglass Park. Timothy Olyphant, one of the cast members, also took cover as the situation was going on. Nobody was hurt.
The rest of the week’s work on the series was suspended; it will pick up again the following week. The incident happened the day after a parking enforcement officer was fatally shot outside the Law & Order: Organized Crime set on NBC. Johnny Pizarro, 31, suffered several gunshot wounds to the face and neck from an as-yet-unapprehended culprit.
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