Sartaj Singh
NBC’s ‘Extended Family,’ created by Mike O’Malley, is a sitcom about a bizarre yet hilarious situation of a divorced couple, Jim and Julia, who decide to stay together in the same home to raise their children. They take turns staying with the kids, often arguing over the rules and guidelines set for them and the house. Their situation becomes even more complicated when Julia begins to date Trey, the owner of Jim’s favorite sports team, and the three of them have to share a space.
The comedy takes up a unique premise to explore a goofy alternative to a conventional divorce dynamic, with little to no negativity and anger, and a whole lot of good-humored support. With the extended family sharing a spacious apartment in Boston, one might ask if the show is really filmed in the city, and where their home is located.
Extended Family Shooting Sites
‘Extended Family’ is not filmed in Boston, it is filmed in a studio in Los Angeles, like most sitcoms. Earlier titled, ‘We Thought We Were Done,’ the show began filming after a series order was given on September 29, 2022. However, with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, production was halted after six episodes and resumed for the remaining seven episodes after the strike. Allow us to take you to the specific filming locations of the sitcom.
Los Angeles, California
The hub of national film and television, Los Angeles houses some of the largest production houses and studios in the world, and one among them was used to film ‘Extended Family.’ The Radford Studio Center became the primary filming location for the show. Also known as CBS Studio Center, the film studio is located in Studio City, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. It was a filming lot established by the king of comedy, Mack Sennett, in 1927. It is from this backlot that the Studio City district derived its name.
With 18 sound stages, the ginormous studio is bisected by the Los Angeles River. Stages range between 7,000 and 25,000 square feet, while office spaces are contained over 220,000 square feet with 223 dressing rooms. For the rare exterior shots that are required in sitcoms, the studio has three filming backlots — a New York City street, which was initially built for ‘Seinfeld,’ a central park with greenery and ponds, and a residential street with houses along its sides. The triangular site of the CBS Studio Center is set to undergo a $1 billion upgrade with expanded facilities, modern sound stages, and transport infrastructure geared towards the digital age of entertainment.
‘Extended Family,’ like most sitcoms, is taped in front of a live audience, with tickets to its showing being free. With its multi-camera setup, the show is recorded from start to finish, like a play, for the benefit of the audience. Their reactions and laughter are recorded in the overhead microphones, which means that if certain punchlines don’t land as they were supposed to, the writers quickly get together to come up with new ones. ‘Extended Family’ is usually taped for around five hours per episode, which means the audience has to maintain the same level of energy for the duration. To keep them upbeat, the team has warm-up guys and a D.J. to interact with and energize the crowd; additionally, gifts are given to them after the end of each taping.
In behind-the-scenes footage we can see the team brainstorming, taking outdoor shots in the backlot, and Jon Cryer engaging the audience. With its holistic filming setup and environment, the Radford Studio Center has produced scores of prominent sitcoms. These include, ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ‘The Conners,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Malcolm in the Middle,’ ‘Lopez vs Lopez,’ ‘That ’70s Show,’ and ‘Parks and Recreation.’
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