You must be already aware that Mystic Falls, the fictional hometown, has been the filming location of the popular TV show, and the majority of the shooting was completed in the exquisite town of Covington, GA. But you may not know the renowned spin-off show, The Originals, was also primarily shot in Georgia, which is less than 20 minutes away.
Yes, although the premise of the show has been set up in New Orleans, many of those balconies and apartments in The Originals are from Conyers, Georgia.
Since then, Conyers has been gaining popularity as a primary filming location for many shows. It is already famous as The Hollywood of the South, but it has a long list of places where the filmmakers prefer to shoot the scenes. The town has been seen in shows like Dukes of Hazard, Goosebumps, Stranger Things, and Sweet Home Alabama.
Synopsis
The Originals revolve around Mikealson’s siblings. The siblings return to the city they helped build, New Orleans. Klaus learns that Hayley is soon expecting a child, and he vows to protect this kid from the unseen enemies, always and forever.
A huge fan base helped The Originals have a successful five-season run. It is a fact that most lovers of TV shows are unaware of this series’ existence. L.J. Smith, the creator of The Vampire Diaries, never intended for the adolescent drama to have a spin-off.
But because of the overwhelming response to the individual tales, the producers felt that fans should also be aware of the histories of The Mikaelsons, the primary “original” vampire family, and their native New Orleans.
The cast includes Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Claire Holt, Phoebe Tonkin, Charles Michael Davis, Daniella Pineda, Leah Pipes, Danielle Campbell, Yusuf Gatewood, Riley Voelkel and others. The Originals is available to stream on Amazon Prime Videos.
Major locations
The set of the show is in New Orleans, but only a few of the scenes were shot there. Other than that, the shooting locations were between Madison, Macon, Olde Town, Rome, and New Orleans.
Some of the scenes were also filmed in New York. These locations were picked to maintain the themes of New Orleans in the show with the plot twists, and recognizable landmarks, and they were also easy for shooting.
The actors had to shuffle between the shooting locations, and the Olde Town scenes were used. It was relatively easy for the filming crew to adapt to the locations that were needed in each episode. Most of the buildings and pubs are from Olde Town.
The Train Depot
The historical Train Depot was not a filming location. If you’re visiting there, you should start your tour from there. It is a welcome center of the town and has been used extensively for filming for both shows.
Center Street
The most recognizable place is Center Street, as it has been home to many of the show’s funerals, festivals, and casual street scenes. Many of the shop signs were changed with neon signs for the antique stores jazz clubs, and storefronts. You can still recognize some of the buildings in the shows.
Like the Phil’s Pawn Shop present in Conyers, GA at 911 Center Street is a frequently featured building in the show. It is shown numerous times in the series; just the sign of the pawn shop is missing.
You can even see it in season 5, episode 13 (Mardis Gras scene) in the final episode. In episode 20 in the first season, you can spot the end of the street with a trolley on the train tracks with the building having fake balconies.
Another favorite is Simply Naked Candles, which replicates Jardin Girs Coodo Store in the show. The lovely white building has been redone with green trim, and red bricks and given eerie appearances to match the whole vibe of the show. You can see it in the first season’s second episode.
The best view of Center Street in the show can be seen in the third season. When Davina walks the street, you can spot the Conyer’s building, including the pawn shop, the sandwich factory, and other front of stores, including The Soapary and New Depot Players.
Used for other shows
After the filming was completed for The Originals, the same places were used to film The Legacies, which was a spin-off from The Originals. Legacies revolve around the storylines of Hope with the involvement of key characters from The Vampire Diaries and also the twins, Alaric Saltzman, and others from The Originals.
