Naman Shrestha
After portraying the titular lawyer in ‘Better Call Saul,’ Bob Odenkirk takes on the role of a professor in AMC’s ‘Lucky Hank.’ Based on the 1997 novel ‘Straight Man’ by Richard Russo, the comedy-drama series created by Paul Lieberstein (‘The Office‘) and Aaron Zelman follows an English Department Chairman named William Henry “Hank” Devereaux, Jr. at an underfunded college who is going through a midlife crisis. Along with him, his wife, Lily, also doubts the choices she has made in life and questions the path she is on despite being the Vice Principal of a local high school.
With so much happening in his life, Hank threatens a duck, suspects that Lily is having an affair with the Dean of his college, finds it hard to cope with the fact that his secretary writes better fiction, and gets his nose injured by a feminist poet, all in a week. With most of the show unfolding in the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University in Railton, Pennsylvania, we witness Hank dealing with his day-to-day troubles with his students and staff members across the campus, highlighting that his life is hilariously tumultuous at every turn. Thus, these factors will likely intrigue you and make you curious about the filming sites of ‘Lucky Hank.’ Well, in that case, we have got you covered!
Lucky Hank Filming Locations
‘Lucky Hank’ is filmed in British Columbia, especially in Metro Vancouver. As per reports, principal photography for the debut season of the Bob Odenkirk starrer commenced in September 2022 under the working title ‘Straight Man’ and wrapped up in December of the same year. Now, without much ado, let’s explore all the specific locations where the AMC show is shot!
Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
Metro Vancouver, or Greater Vancouver, serves as the primary filming location for ‘Lucky Hank,’ with the production team utilizing the metropolitan area’s vast and diverse locales to make them stand in for Railton, Pennsylvania, where the story is based. First and foremost, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver doubles for the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University. The filming unit focuses on even the most minor details as they set up metal placards of the characters’ names on cement parking bumpers in the reserved parking spots right in front of the main building.
@yvrshoots filming of “Straight Man” this morning at UBC’s Hennings building as Railton College. pic.twitter.com/UzbDsE3S2Z
— Shiva (@shivzzs) October 21, 2022
As per reports, the cast and crew of ‘Lucky Hank’ also utilize the facilities of the MBS Winston Studios at 7588 Winston Street in the city of Burnaby. The 66,431 square-foot production facility is home to two sound stages, wardrobe areas, lock-up areas, a swing stage, paint and construction shops, and fully-furnished production offices, making it a suitable shooting site for different projects, including the AMC series. The team apparently constructed some interior sets on the film studio’s stage to tape a few pivotal sequences.
Furthermore, in late September 2022, Bob Odenkirk and the rest of the crew were spotted taping a field hockey game scene for the inaugural iteration in and around Tamanawis Park at 12601 64 Avenue in the city of Surrey. Besides, they set up camp in Downtown Vancouver to record various exterior scenes for the show. Popularly known as Hollywood North, Vancouver has a history of standing in for several US cities over the years. So, it makes sense why the makers decide to lens ‘Lucky Hank’ in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. In addition, Metro Vancouver’s locales have been featured in numerous movies and TV shows, including ‘Happy Gilmore,’ ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain,’ ‘The Good Doctor,’ and ‘A Million Little Things.’
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