Sartaj Singh
‘Under the Bridge’ follows author Rebecca Godfrey as she enters the investigation of a teenage girl’s murder, unearthing disturbing realities. In Victoria, British Columbia, a 14-year-old girl goes to a party with her friends and doesn’t return. A search discovers her body in the Gorge Waterway, with autopsy reports pointing to drowning as the cause of death and revealing severe trauma to the head and body. The girl, Reena Virk, had been badly beaten and drowned.
While the investigators struggle to get information out of the teenage girls she was last seen with, author Rebecca Godfrey infiltrates the group and begins to unravel the mystery. With Quinn Shephard at the helm, the Hulu show adapts Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name, which is based on real events. The episodes transport us to 1990s Victoria, with its cold urban landscapes and rugged tundra complementing the chilling tale of troubled teenagers, racism, and murder.
Under the Bridge Filming Locations
‘Under the Bridge’ is filmed in the Greater Vancouver area as opposed to Saanich, British Columbia, where the actual events took place. Principal photography began in December 2022, and the first season was wrapped up in five months by April 2023. The cast and crew seemed to have really enjoyed the production process and shared tidbits of their journey on social media. “Over the 8 months of filming, I learned and grew so much as a person and as an actor and had many wonderful memories along the way,” shared actress Vritika Gupta, who depicts Reena Virk. “Words cannot describe how grateful I am to be a part of Reena’s story and show the world what many don’t know.”
Greater Vancouver, British Columbia
Filming for ‘Under the Bridge’ takes place in Vancouver and its surrounding metropolitan area. For the first season, shooting was carried out across 79 sets, out of which 50 were on-location sets, and 29 were built in a studio. Some identifiable on-location shooting sites are situated in the Allied Shipyard in North Vancouver and neighborhoods in New Westminster. Set building for the series is carried out using five soundstages at Whites Studios in Richmond.
The Allied Shipyard on 1870 Harbour Road, North Vancouver, is a distinct shooting site in the series. Located on the northern shore of Burrard Inlet, the World War II-era shipyard is an active shipbuilding and repair facility that serves both commercial and government clients. The yard becomes a rugged backdrop for the series, seen as a hangout spot for the teenagers. As the girls gather in the area, they use its discarded furniture, and we can spot crates, cages, and other junk strewn about with worn metal infrastructure in the background.
The shipyard’s industrial ambiance, historic charm, and waterfront location can be seen in shows such as ‘iZombie,’ ‘Prison Break,’ ‘The Man in the High Castle,’ and the film ‘Psych: The Movie.’ The production team ventures to New Westminster and uses some of its neighborhoods and properties to film scenes of the teenage girls’ houses and home streets. The pink house seen in the show is actually located at 1013 Cornwall Street. The four-bedroom single-family home was built in 2001 and is privately owned. Some of the group’s conversations take place at various points on Cornwall Street. Another such sequence occurs with a house on Chilliwack Street in the background.
New Westminster is one of the oldest cities in British Columbia and was initially founded as the capital of British Columbia. Situated on the north bank of the Fraser River and sporting a central location within Greater Vancouver’s film hub, New Westminster’s charming Victorian-era homes and heritage sites make it a popular filming destination. Filming for many of the show’s interior scenes and sequences requiring special effects takes place at Whites Studios Fraserwood at 22031 Fraserwood Way. The William F.
White Fraserwood Studio is a 119,000-square-foot facility sporting five soundstages, a paint shop, a mill, a wardrobe area, and a range of amenities under its 25-foot clear-height roof. The production team makes use of the entire studio’s facilities, from its 2,350-square-foot soundstage 5 to the expansive 22,263-square-foot soundstage 2. The studio was established to meet the growing demand for studio space in the Greater Vancouver area, which has become one of North America’s top film production hubs. Its location provides easy access to downtown Vancouver, the Vancouver International Airport, and other key filming locations in the area.
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