Naman Shrestha
Created by Michele Giannusa, Netflix’s ‘Ripple’ is a drama series that follows four individuals, Aria, Nate, Kris, and Walter, residing in the Big Apple, as each of them navigates their life’s challenges. Despite being total strangers to one another, their lives collide in unexpected ways merely through seemingly insignificant and small decisions. After they experience a significant loss in their lives, their actions end up creating a ripple effect that intertwines their lives at some point. Upon finding each other, the four become friends and make one big chosen family. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of New York City, where the wholesome tale unfolds, the four new friends find peace, quiet, and comfort in one another’s presence.
Ripple Filming Locations
‘Ripple’ is filmed in Ontario, especially in and around Toronto. Principal photography for the debut season of the Netflix production got underway in September 2024 under the working title ‘A Stone’s Throw’ and went on for nearly three months before wrapping up in December of the same year. Vanessa Smythe, who portrays Claire in the show, took to social media and shared how she learned sign language with the help of the interpreters on set.
She added, “I could tell you about how great it was to shoot this, how I felt dream-scenario-supported on set, continually inspired by these amazing actors and directors, or how each new script I read moved me to tears, but I guess I wanted to tell you how it feels when my real life son signs me “I love you” or “more” or “thirsty”, and how it too, is but a small ripple effect of something inherently sacred and lovely and nice.”
Toronto, Ontario
Despite ‘Ripple’ being set in New York City, most of the pivotal sequences were reportedly lensed in the city of Toronto. Given the vast and versatile landscapes of the city, its locales were used to double for the Big Apple. In order to capture the hustle and bustle of New York City, the filming unit set up camp at several busy streets and neighborhoods of Toronto, including King Street. For instance, the exterior of a salon was transformed into Lumi West for the series. Meanwhile, other businesses on the street also feature in the backdrop of various scenes, including John’s Mart at 581 King Street West.
For the scenes set in the iconic Central Park of NYC, the production team took over a local park in Toronto and redressed it accordingly. Thanks to the skyscrapers and similar streets of the city, it aptly mimics American cities like New York City and Chicago. Apart from ‘Ripple,’ the Hollywood North has served as a production location for numerous movies and TV shows, including ‘A Very Jonas Christmas Movie,’ ‘Good Will Hunting,’ ‘The Apprentice,’ ‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Gilmore Girls,’ and ‘The Queen’s Gambit.’
New York City, New York
In order to capture the essence of New York City and ground the narrative in reality, the filming unit of ‘Ripple’ also taped a set of establishing and exterior shots on location. From the bustling streets to the iconic bridges, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and more, associated with the Big Apple, many of them can be spotted in multiple outdoor scenes. Other than that, you might also notice some of the many skyscrapers in the establishing shots, including One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower, One Vanderbilt, and 432 Park Avenue.
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