Where Was Netflix's Zombie Apocalypse Series 'Black Summer' Filmed?
Published June 18 2021, 2:12 p.m. ET
Get ready for more blood, guts ... and the undead.
The post-apocalyptic series Black Summer follows protagonist Rose (Jaime King) as she tries to reunite with her daughter Anna (Zoe Marlett), all while battling hordes of zombies. One wrong move can be deadly, and Rose must survive every challenge thrown her way if she wants to find her daughter and get her somewhere safe.
Season 1 of the Netflix series ended with the two finally reconnecting, but they're not out of the woods just yet. Season 2 picks up a few months after the massacre at the stadium, and the two not only face hordes of flesh-eating zombies, but also seedy groups of survivors.
There are definitely more than a few heart-pounding moments in Black Summer. Additionally, fans may be wondering where this series was filmed. Keep reading to find out more!
Where was the Netflix series 'Black Summer' filmed?
The zombie series is shot entirely in Canada, around the city of Calgary, with many shots being filmed in small suburban towns, according to The Cinemaholic. The Season 1 penultimate episode — which filmed at a real-life football stadium — was shot at the McMahon Stadium.
Other pivotal shots in Season 1 were filmed in the township of Irricana, according to the outlet.
Though production was halted during Season 2 of Black Summer, filming locations did not change too much. The cast and crew still shot the sophomore season in Alberta, Canada. A stark difference from Season 2 of the zombie series is that the characters will also face the brutal elements — i.e., it's no longer "summer" in Canada.
“The beautiful thing about Calgary and Alberta, as you know, is the ever-changing weather,” Jaime King said in an interview with Calgary Herald. “Several of us always wanted to tell a story in the winter and using the elements as a character. We definitely do that in Season 2. What does it mean when you’re freezing cold, you’re battling the elements, you just need water. You need any kind of food literally just to survive.”
According to the publication, production began in mid-February of 2020 and they were supposed to film in the following rural areas: Rocky View County, Bragg Creek, Kananaskis Country, Morley, and High River. However, due to the lockdowns enacted because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (also known as COVID-19), production was put on hiatus.
When filming returned in September 2020, the cast and crew shot on location in Calgary.
“Thank God for Calgary,” Jaime said. “We were blessed by a miracle from God, truly. We shoot consecutively in order. We got our first four episodes in the can and were able to complete our day on March 14. We had rewritten and prepared for when we came back for what the story would look like without really this extreme conflict with weather.”
But the crew got lucky and "there was snow, this beautiful, angelic snow..."
You can now stream Season 1 and 2 of Black Summer on Netflix.