Hulu's 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' Is Set in '90s-Era New York — Where Was it Filmed?
Published Feb. 15 2023, 12:16 p.m. ET
From creators Alex Tse and RZA, Hulu's epic drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga spotlights the unlikely tale of influential hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. First premiering in September 2019, the series "tracks the Clan’s formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs aka The RZA, who strives to unite a dozen young, black men who are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories."
The show — which pulls inspiration from RZA's 2004 book The Wu-Tang Manual and his 2009 book The Tao of Wu — is set in ’90s New York. Let's explore the Emmy-nominated series's main filming locations.
Where was Hulu's 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' filmed?
According to its IMDb page, the dramatized series was filmed in New York City. More specifically, the series shot in Staten Island back in 2019, utilizing an apartment complex on Osgood and Fairway avenues, per the Staten Island Advance.
Trucks and trailers were spotted by Stapleton's apartment complex at 220 Osgood Ave., and Clifton's Fox Hill Apartments at 350 Vanderbilt Ave. Furthermore, crew members were seen by Dongan Hills's Berry Houses apartments.
"We're trying to make this production as authentic as possible," a location department source told the publication. Additionally, a rep for the series claimed that "a lot of other films want to dress up neighborhoods to be something they're not," further relaying that the Wu-Tang: An American Saga team aimed to film "what Staten Island actually looks like."
Seasons 2 and 3 of 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' shot in the Garden State.
According to the official Instagram account of the city of Newark, N.J., Seasons 2 and 3 of the Hulu series were filmed in Newark.
"Born as the Salaam Temple," Newark Symphony Hall was specifically used. Being New Jersey's oldest and largest entertainment venue, it has stood at 1020 Broad St. since 1925.
Asbury Park Press further detailed that Season 2 of the series filmed in East Orange, Elmwood Park, Kearny, Paterson, Plainfield, and Secaucus.
"Several North Jersey locations doubled for Staten Island in the 1990s, including 18th Avenue (walk and talk scenes), Cricket Club (Fever nightclub) and Myrtle Avenue (Bobby Diggs’ apartment) in Irvington," wrote NJ.gov.
“A single network series filming in New Jersey for a full season can generate as much as $100 million in local economic activity, and create hundreds of local jobs,” Governor Phil Murphy stated, clearly excited that Wu-Tang: An American Saga chose to film in the Garden State.
The New Jersey Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program — which offers a tax credit for qualified projects — is credited with attracting the entertainment endeavor to the state.
As detailed by the governor, recent projects that have, too, taken advantage of New Jersey's assets include CBS’s The Equalizer and Ways & Means, and HBO’s The Plot Against America.
Season 3 episodes of Wu-Tang: An American Saga premiere on Wednesdays on Hulu.
