Naman Shrestha
Created by Thomas W. Lynch, Netflix’s ‘I Woke Up a Vampire’ is a fantasy comedy series that chronicles the teenage life of Carmie Henley whose entire life gets turned upside down when she turns 13. With the help of her best friend, Kev, she finds out that she is a Vampling — half human and half vampire — which makes her already complicated middle school life all the more complicated. However, thanks to her supernatural and mythical powers, she is able to fend off her enemies on campus and protect her loved ones from harm.
Featuring impressive onscreen performances from a group of talented young actors, including Kaileen Chang, Niko Ceci, Zebastin Borjeau, Ana Araujo, and Aaliyah Cinello, the vampire series unfolds mostly in the fictional Magnolia Middle School and the residences of the main characters. The fantastical elements and visuals against the backdrop of some ordinary sites spark some questions regarding the actual filming sites of ‘I Woke Up a Vampire.’
I Woke Up a Vampire Filming Locations
‘I Woke Up a Vampire’ is filmed in Ontario, specifically in and around Toronto. The principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the teen series seemingly commenced in the summer of 2022 and continued for the following couple of months, before wrapping up in early October of the same year. Now, without wasting any time, let’s traverse through all the specific locations where Carmie navigates her vampire powers while dealing with teenage issues at school in the Netflix series!
Toronto, Ontario
A majority of the shooting for ‘I Woke Up a Vampire’ takes place in the capital city of Ontario — Toronto. Apart from being one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world, the city also works as a suitable filming site for different kinds of productions due to the lower cost of production as well as the vastness and versatility when it comes to its ability to mimic the terrains of American cities such as Chicago and New York.
The scenes involving the Magnolia Middle School, where the protagonist and her friends study, are seemingly lensed on a sound stage or two and the backlot area of one of the film studios situated in and around Toronto, including Pinewood Toronto Studios, Revival Film Studios, TriBro Studios, Studio City Toronto, and the Backlot Film Studios. For other exterior scenes, the filming unit supposedly sets up camp in different streets and neighborhoods of the capital city against suitable backdrops.
In a late May 2023 interview with Harlton Empire, teen actor Niko Ceci who portrays Kev Gardner in the series was asked about his favorite scenes during the shooting of ‘I Woke Up a Vampire.’ He said, “My favorite scenes to film were definitely the scenes filmed in the comic shop. There was something so nostalgic about the set. The comic book shop basement felt like my home. I felt it was very easy to act on that set because there were lots of props and visuals to react to. Plus it was just a very comfortable space that I got to share with the Collector, played by Kris Siddiqui, who I felt very comfortable and blessed to work with.”
With the towering skyscrapers filling the backdrop of many exterior scenes, it is highly likely that you spot several local buildings and landmarks, such as the Humber Bay Arch Bridge, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the CN Tower. Besides ‘I Woke Up a Vampire,’ Toronto has hosted the production of a number of film and TV projects over the years. Some of the popular ones are ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,’ ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Gen V,’ and ‘The Boys.’
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