Dhruv Trivedi
The Apple TV+ comedy-drama series ‘Physical’ follows Sheila as she finds an unlikely and highly lucrative outlet for her pent-up frustration. Set in a coastal town in the 1980s, the show finds its protagonists struggling to leave their movement days from the 70s behind and embrace the capitalist era. The period look of the show is intricate, from its vintage urban backdrop to the custom-made aerobics leotards that take center stage in the show’s overall aesthetic. The multiple locations also portray a similar authenticity and eye for detail. Let’s take a look at where ‘Physical’ is filmed.
Physical Filming Locations
‘Physical’ is set in 1980s California, where the now middle-aged participants of the idealistic hippie movement live. The show is also filmed in coastal California, which gives it a lot of its sunny, surfer vibes. Production for season 1 was in full swing from November 2020 onwards and filming wrapped up by March 2021. Let’s take a closer look at the specific filming locations where the show is filmed.
Los Angeles County, California
‘Physical’ is based in 1980s San Diego but is filmed in Los Angeles County, California. The show makes extensive use of multiple seaside locations in the city of Santa Monica, where the protagonist Sheila is seen talking to surfers and advertising her aerobics class to women walking on the boardwalk. Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is also seemingly used for filming on location, as are some of the city’s other seaside areas.
A strip mall in the city of Los Angeles is also used extensively for filming. It is used as a stand-in for the mall that Sheila visits repeatedly to first attend aerobics classes and then start teaching them. The areas and streets outside the mall are also used for location filming, as is a mid-century mansion in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino.
The comedic drama also relies on extensive studio filming, especially for many of the scenes that are set in a studio itself where Sheila records her exercise tapes. The massive sound stages at the Quixote Studios – North Valley, located at 12137 Montague Street, Pacoima, in the city of Los Angeles are used for filming the show’s many studio scenes.
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