Varun Patel
War movies and television series might be popular but they incur large production costs and require tons of effort when it comes to depicting the story’s setting. ’68 Whiskey’ is a television series that takes up that challenge pretty well.
The Paramount Network show is a military dramedy: one which has a lighter, easy-going tone than conventional, action-packed military fiction. Rather than focusing on an intense battle or military conflict, the show takes a look at the daily events of soldiers’ lives in a comedic tone.
It follows several army medics who are stationed at an Afghan forward operating base that is nicknamed “the Orphanage.” The army professionals take on the challenging world that is compared to the Wild West by the show. There is certainly a sense of place in the story as that practically dictates the plot and the everything that the characters go through everyday.
Where Was ’68 Whiskey’ Filmed?
Many of you might be wondering where the war comedy series, ’68 Whiskey’ is filmed. One thing that the show has done right is be on point with its depiction of the setting. The show’s story is set in Afghanistan and primarily in war bases of the United States military. Viewers can attest that the show does give one a feeling of being transported to the dusty Afghan landscape amidst a sprawling military base that feels extremely out-of-place in the open locale with its sophisticated technologies.
Has the show actually been filmed in Afghanistan? Or did the show’s producers film it elsewhere and pass it off as the war-torn country? Watch the following video to find out about the making of ’68 Whiskey’ and continue reading to know where the series was filmed.
Santa Clarita, California
The first thing that viewers would be pleasantly surprised to know when it comes to filming ’69 Whiskey’ is the fact that the entire military base depicted on the show was constructed from scratch. It is not a building redesigned to look like a set or multiple soundstages that have been collated. It is a full-blown military base!
The constructed set is located in Santa Clarita, California. The production designer of the series, Tomas Voth says “We chose Santa Clarita because there’s a part of Santa Clarita where we’re in that can match pretty closely to Laghman Province in Afghanistan.”
Apparently, the actor, Fahim Fazli who plays an Afghan warlord also serves a technical adviser to the show’s producers when it comes to getting the feel of Afghanistan right. The Kabul-born actor advised the producers on what an Afghan rural town might look like.
The advantage of having a fully constructed set is the fact that the action can take place relatively seamlessly. For instance, characters walking from outside the base to one of its buildings can be followed from the very beginning as they enter a completely built interior set.
Had a blast filming with #carmenferrera and @JohnKreng at the helm. For @ActionForActors @68Whiskey @SEALTeamCBS @NCIS_CBS pic.twitter.com/V3pRHiHLwT
— Liam Fountain (@LiamFountain) November 11, 2019
Moreover, the show does a thorough job when it comes to depicting the perfect mis-en-scene. For example, actual Black Hawk helicopters flown by pilots experienced in flying in war zones were used for filming the series.
Furthermore, the military base wasn’t the only thing that the show’s producers constructed. They also constructed an entire Afghan village! Particular attention was paid to the colors and the costumes of the actors playing the locals so that the show could literally transport viewers to Afghanistan.
All the above-stated efforts obviously required tons of research. In fact, Voth had an entire wall dedicated to his research. So, one thing that viewers can rest assured about is that ’68 Whiskey’ does justice to its setting despite not having been filmed in the actual location that it is set in. Several movies and television series have committed that error before: not staying authentic to its setting due to lack of research/effort, ending up feeling inauthentic or out-of-this-world in a bad manner.
