Naman Shrestha
From the mind of Ray McKinnon, Sundance TV’s ‘Rectify’ is a crime psychological drama series that stars Aden Young as Daniel Holden, who has spent nearly two decades behind bars for the rape and murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Hanna, when he was just a teenager. After new DNA evidence proves his innocence, he is finally released from prison after his conviction is overturned on appeal. Although Daniel returns to Paulie, Georgia, his hometown, he notices that half the town considers him a criminal and an outsider.
However, his younger sister, Amantha, who believes in his innocence and has pushed for his release, serves as the only source of comfort in Daniel’s life. On the other hand, his stepbrother, Ted Jr., still suspects his motives and wants to keep his family protected. Meanwhile, the prosecutor who was responsible for Daniel’s incarceration is hell-bent on reopening the case and sending him back to prison. Besides Aden, ‘Rectify’ features stellar performances from Abigail Spencer, J. Smith-Cameron, Adelaide Clemens, Clayne Crawford, and Luke Kirby. It is set in the fictional Georgia town of Paulie, which serves as an additional character harboring deeply buried secrets.
Rectify Filming Locations
Production on ‘Rectify’ was conducted primarily in Georgia, particularly in and around Griffin. From what we can tell, principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the drama series took place in the summer and spring of 2012. As for the sophomore round, filming commenced in early February 2014. The shooting for the fourth and final season of the Sundance TV production got underway in April 2016. Creator Ray McKinnon reportedly kept a full-time dialect coach on set to ensure the actors spoke with authentic Georgia accents.
Griffin, Georgia
A majority of ‘Rectify’ was reportedly lensed in the city of Griffin and its surrounding areas. The county seat of Georgia’s Spalding County doubled as the fictional town of Paulie, where most of the drama unfolds. Located near Griffin Country Club and Shoal Creek Lake, a private residence stood in for the Talbot House, Daniel Holden’s family home. During the shoot, the filming unit reportedly took over the Bank Street Cafe at 126 South Hill Street and transformed it into a film set that appears multiple times throughout the show. As per reports, the cast and crew members were spotted taping pivotal sequences in and around Hill’s Tire and Auto Service Repair – The Goodyear Store at 415 West Taylor Street as it doubled for the fictional Paulie Tire & Rim, a business belonging to Daniel.
An actual optometrist’s office at 112 West Oak Street was utilized to shoot the scene in which Daniel visits an optometrist to get his glasses after being released from prison. Several important scenes across the four seasons, involving characters like Roland Foulkes, were recorded in and around Murphy’s Restaurant at 508 West Taylor Street #2820. In addition, a Shell gas station in Griffin also stood in for a convenience store where Daniel buys a SmartWater. For the purpose of shooting rural scenes, the production team traveled to the countryside around the city of Griffin and to the wooded area along the banks of the Flint River. During a conversation with Atlanta Magazine, creator Ray McKinnon opened up about his reason for filming ‘Rectify’ in Griffin.
He stated, “I wanted it to feel authentic, so I was looking for a town with a strata of history. At the very least, I wanted Southerners to be able to watch and say, ‘Yes, that’s really the South.’” In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Abigail Spencer, who portrays Amantha Holden, was asked about her schedule during the shooting of the show. She revealed, “It’s intense. You work every day until you kill yourself and then you have a week off. We shoot down in Griffin, Georgia, this really small town about an hour south of Atlanta. It’s a double edged sword to be so isolated, because you get totally immersed, but sometimes you need a shot of the outside world.” She also admitted that she had befriended many of the local Griffin residents as they mostly shot on location, using real locations.
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