Created by the trio of Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler, ‘Russian Doll’ is a science fiction comedy series that revolves around a young woman named Nadia Vulvokov, who is the guest of honor at a party. Nadia is going about her life until she repeatedly dies while leaving the party, only to return and relive the same night over and over again.
Stuck in this strange time loop, she tries to find a way out and does everything she can. Much like the previous season, most of season 2 of ‘Russian Doll’ is set in New York City. If you are wondering whether the second installment of the comedy-drama series was filmed in the same locations as the first season, we have got you covered!
Russian Doll Season 2 Filming Locations
‘Russian Doll’ season 2 was filmed in the USA and Hungary, specifically in New York City and Budapest. Moreover, a majority of the second season was filmed in New York, which also serves as the filming site for the first season of the series. Production for the second installment was supposed to commence in March 2020 but got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After one year of delay in production, the principal photography finally began in March 2021 under the code name ‘Black Gumball’ and wrapped up in June 2021. Now, let’s take a detailed look at the specific locations that served as filming sites for the sophomore season of ‘Russian Doll.’
Manhattan, New York City
Filming continues today in the East Village for @RussianDoll (still going as 'Black Gumball'). Notices are outside St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church, whose exterior doubled as Maxine's apartment building in Season 1. Wonder if the party is still going… pic.twitter.com/bdn86Yhn0N
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) March 31, 2021
The production team of ‘Russian Doll’ traveled across the bustling borough of Manhattan in New York City to tape a majority of the scenes for the second season, just as they did for the inaugural season. The cast and crew members of the comedy-drama series set up camp in East Village, which is located on the East Side of Lower Manhattan. Specifically, the exterior of St. Nicholas Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church at 288 East 10th Street in East Village doubles as Maxine’s (Nadia’s friend) apartment building.
Russian Doll filming on the Upper West Side 4/7/21 pic.twitter.com/qqh8oN40h7
— giovanni 💤 (@SIOUXSlE) April 8, 2021
In addition, the production team was spotted in several other neighborhoods of Manhattan, including Upper West Side, SoHo in Lower Manhattan, and Harlem in Upper Manhattan. Apart from that, Avenue A — the borough’s north-south avenue and the Columbus Circle traffic circle are also a couple of locations that feature in the second season of the Natasha Lyonne-starrer. Moreover, the Crazy Eddie store in Manhattan also served as a filming site for a few sequences of the sophomore round of the comedy-drama series.
Mock up Crazy Eddie store for filming of @RussianDoll in Manhattan today. pic.twitter.com/57IdLdKhox
— Sam E. Antar (@SamAntar) March 26, 2021
Staten Island, New York City
The southernmost borough of New York City, Staten Island, also features as one of the backdrops in ‘Russian Doll.’ The production team was spotted specifically at 75 Vanderbilt Avenue in Staten Island, taping some pivotal scenes for season 2. Over the years, the vast landscape of the borough and county has featured in a number of filming projects, such as ‘The Godfather‘ and ‘Gotham.’
https://twitter.com/Carolina2676/status/1374334914561200131
Budapest, Hungary
For filming purposes, the cast and crew members of the comedy-drama series also traveled all the way to Central Hungary, specifically setting up camp in Budapest. The Astoria metro underpass in Budapest was transformed into East Berlin in the 1980s as all the signs in the subway were also changed to German.
Possible set for Russian Doll in the Astoria subway station in Budapest, Hungary pic.twitter.com/q5oicvivje
— giovanni 💤 (@SIOUXSlE) June 22, 2021
Greta Lee, one of the stars of the show, shared a few details with W Magazine about filming in the capital of Hungary. Lee was apparently so jet-lagged due to the trip to Europe that she spent half the time in a dream state. She added, “I’m not a method actor, however, going to Eastern Europe during Covid to film the show, and having to play a person on a specific journey where they’re dropped into a whole new world—I mean, let’s just say it was easy to access.”
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