‘Watson’ Is Set in Pittsburgh, but It Is Actually Shot in a Popular Canadian Province

While the idea of a medical drama that's based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series may seem like a strange amalgamation at first, it's a genre with a proven user base. Take House for instance — the grumpy, limping medical doctor was a lot like the fast-thinking detective himself, with each episode sporting an investigation that takes place inside of a healthcare facility.

CBS's new investigative medical drama, Watson, doesn't hide its connection to Doyle's work. And while folks who watched its premiere on CBS on Jan. 26, 2025, may've easily spotted that connection, it seems that there are some users who are having trouble piecing together where it's filmed.

Those who've resided in or visited the Steel City may recognize a lot of the show's establishing and exterior shots. This makes sense, because the hospital that the show's titular character, Dr. John Watson, works in is the fictional University Hospital of Pittsburgh in Oakland.

Cast and crew members of the series did spend some time in Pittsburgh, filming for three days in the Pennsylvania city in June of 2023.

Morris Chestnut, who plays Watson in the series, had nothing but great things to say about P-Town's residents.

"I really enjoyed the city of Pittsburgh. There’s a lot of history there. Everyone was very friendly and kind. And, you know, I’m partial to the Steelers," he said.

According to Trib Live, the bulk of Pittsburgh shot scenes will appear in the series' first season, primarily in its first episode.

The outlet states that there are numerous references to the City of Bridges throughout the series as well. Characters often utilize a local colloquialism, the word "yinz." Someone is wearing a Carnegie Mellon shirt in its debut episode, and another character is sporting the logo of a local band Vicious Blades on their own t-shirt.

CMU physicist Walter Kohn is mentioned in its third episode. In its fourth, someone's rocking a Jerome Bettis jersey, and Pitt Medical School is given a head nod as well.

All of this love for The 'Burgh makes sense when you consider that series creator Craig Sweeny is a native. "In almost all of our episodes, you’ll see establishing shots of Lawrenceville or Squirrel Hill or Point Breeze," he told Trib Live.

He went on to state, "I gave (the second unit crew) a very specific shopping list, and they went out with cars and drones and made it happen."

And while there are a lot of exterior shots of the area, the bulk of filming was conducted in British Columbia.

Specifically, in Vancouver's Bridge Studios, which is also where ABC's The Good Doctor was filmed.

The area is known for providing rather tantalizing film incentives for production companies to utilize so that they can get the most bang for their buck.

It also helped that the production was able to use a lot of set materials from ABC's own medical drama for their own filming rights, as well.

While the pilot aired at 10 p.m. on Jan. 26, its second episode airs on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m., and every subsequent Sunday evening after that on CBS.