Naman Shrestha
Adapted from the eponymous novel written by George R. Stewart, MGM+’s ‘Earth Abides’ is a post-apocalyptic drama series that acquaints us with an intelligent yet reserved geologist named Isherwood “Ish” Williams. After spending several months in a coma, he wakes up to continue his semi-isolated life, only to find out that a mysterious disease has taken over the world and eliminated almost all of humanity. As he heads out to face what’s left of the world, he crosses paths with some survivors. However, since there is no law and order, he must tread and trust carefully.
Todd Komarnicki’s sci-fi creation features stellar onscreen performances from a talented ensemble cast that includes Alexander Ludwig, Jessica Frances Dukes, Elyse Levesque, Luisa d’Oliveira, Birkett Turton, and Hilary McCormack. The story unfolds in the post-apocalyptic San Francisco and Berkeley areas of California, while the ruined landscapes and empty streets make the entire narrative seem all the more realistic and visually intriguing.
Earth Abides Filming Locations
‘Earth Abides’ is primarily filmed in British Columbia, particularly in different sites across Greater Vancouver. Principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the sci-fi series reportedly got underway in April 2024 and continued through a couple of months before getting wrapped up in June of the same year. Upon the conclusion of the shooting for season 1, Alexander Ludwig, who portrays Ish, took to social media and opened up about his experience. He said, “What a grind this has been. I’ve never been so mentally exhausted. 16hour days and some incredibly intense scenes for months straight. But I have to say I think this one is going to be magical. Creatively it has been the gift of gifts and I can’t wait to share this with you. Stay tuned!”
Greater Vancouver, British Columbia
In order to achieve the setting of post-plague San Francisco and Berkeley, the production team sets up camp in Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver. Around the middle of May 2024, the filming unit took over the area around the Cleveland Dam in North Vancouver to shoot several pivotal sequences for the debut season of ‘Earth Abides.’ It seems that David Lam Park and the surrounding areas are also featured in the show.
The cast and crew members reportedly tape many important scenes in Cloverdale, which is a town center situated in the city of Surrey, which doubles as Berkeley, California. For instance, 176th Street was completely transformed to portray the destroyed streets of the city. They put up fake business signs, placed rugged vehicles, covered shopfronts, and laid large amounts of debris all over the street. Besides that, they even brought in a buffalo named Stanley to lens certain segments for the first season. According to reports, shooting is also conducted in other spots around Cloverdale.
During the shooting process, Alexander Ludwig felt deeply connected to several aspects of the story. One of the primary reasons for that was the fact that Vancouver is his hometown, where he grew up. He opened up to The West Australian, “We shot this in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada, and there were scenes that were 10 minutes from my high school and where I lived with my family. It was crazy, this shoot. I drew from all of it, and my connection to Jessica (who plays Emma) was so strong.” Having struck up a close friendship with his co-star, he also admittedly leaned on her during difficult scenes. He added, “She is phenomenal, and not just as an actor. I said to her, ‘This is going to change your life’, because people are going to watch her and go, ‘holy s…, this woman is just a force’.”
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