25 TV Shows and Movies Filmed in Atlanta

For decades, Atlanta, Georgia has been used for its stunning scenery in television shows and movies. Some are classics, while others you may have forgotten about. This is by no means an exhaustive list as there are hundreds thanks to state tax incentives. For more television shows and movies filmed in Atlanta, check out the IMDB page.

Television Shows Filmed in Atlanta

Dozens of television shows have been filmed in Atlanta ranging from dramas to comedies to reality.

Atlanta

The FX comedy series around an aspiring rapper, his cousin, and their oddball friend trying to hustle their way to the top. It stars Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield. Many Atlanta landmarks are included like JR Crickets and Zesto restaurants. There’s even an episode filmed in Helen!

Being Mary Jane

The BET series Being Mary Jane stars Gabrielle Union as a woman working as a news anchor in Atlanta and later New York City . She juggles her personal and professional lives. The show’s five seasons were filmed throughout the city, including in the Virginia Highland and Castleberry Hill neighborhoods.

Black Lightning

The CW series adds some much-needed diversity into the “Arrowverse” of DC Comics. A retired superhero must put back on his suit to fight a dangerous gang. But he’s joined by his daughters with surprising abilities. It is filmed in Atlanta locations including Walton and Mitchell streets downtown and the Boogalou Restaurant & Lounge.

Cobra Kai

Following the 1980s film The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai revisits the relationships of the original characters as adults, starring Ralph Macchio and Billy Zabka. They open rival dojos and their students face off with a new generation of rivalries.

Among the locations around Atlanta that have been used are the Cascade roller skating rink, Underground Atlanta, and the Fernbank Science Center.

Devious Maids

The Lifetime series Devious Maids describes a group of Latina housekeepers for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Through their work, they learn about their employer’s secrets, especially after the mysterious death of a maid. While the show was set in California, it was filmed in Atlanta spots like Stone Mountain.

Dynasty

The reboot of the 1980s soap opera features a young woman who comes to blows with her father’s new girlfriend over the future of the family business. Starring Elizabeth Gillies, Nathalie Kelley, and Grant Snow, it’s both set and filmed in Atlanta. Much takes place at a studio in Norcross but the mansion is in Buford.

Greenleaf

Created for Oprah Winfrey’s network OWN, Greenleaf is about a Memphis mega-church and the family that runs it. The series stars Oprah herself, along with Keith David and Lynn Whitfield. It was filmed at the same Norcross studio as Dynasty and at a number of nearby churches.

Halt and Catch Fire

The AMC show is set in the 1980s around the creation of the personal computer. It stars Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, and Mackenzie Davis. It’s set in the “Silicon Prarie” of Dallas, Texas but Atlanta is used as a stand in. Buildings in downtown Atlanta were used.

Ozark

The gritty series features a family on the run after a money-laundering operation gone wrong. They move to the Lake of the Ozarks but soon pick up their life of crime again. Jason Bateman stars alongside Laura Linney and Julia Garner. Lake Allatoona is the primary location but the production has also used Chateau Elan and Stone Mountain.

Queer Eye

The reboot of the popular series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer Eye has a new “Fab Five” that seeks to improve the lives of people that are struggling. The first two seasons were filmed in Atlanta, including at Ponce City Market, Cabbagetown, Sweet Auburn Market, and the Fox Theatre. For more locations from Queer Eye, check out this story from Discover Atlanta.

Real Housewives of Atlanta

Atlanta has been the site of a number of reality programs like Love and Hip Hop and Love is Blind. But none compares to Bravo’s the Real Housewives of Atlanta, the most successful of the franchise. The rotating cast of ladies can be seen at countless restaurants around the city like Mary Mac’s Tea Room as well as hotels like Barnsley Resort.

The Resident

Fox’s medical drama The Resident is about a group of residents that clash with hospital executives over its policies. It stars Matt Czuchry, Emily Van Camp, and Manish Dayal. It’s set in Atlanta and includes references to real places. The High Museum of Art is used as the setting for the hospital and the adjacent Woodruff Center for the Arts is used for interiors.

Stranger Things

A group of friends meets a mysterious girl with unique abilities. But the “bad men” are after her, along with an otherworldly creature. The series has been set in different seasons and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, and David Harbour.

Stranger Things is filmed throughout Georgia but primarily in the Atlanta area. Some of the locations have included the Emory University Briarcliff campus, the South Bend Pool, and Sleepy Hollow Farm.

The Walking Dead

The iconic zombie series is about a group of survivors searching for something resembling home in the apocalypse. Andrew Lincoln stars with Norman Reedus and Danai Gurira. There are countless Walking Dead locations in the state but the first season especially highlighted the city including the Cobb Energy Center, Jackson Street Bridge, and the Goat Farm Arts Center.

Watchmen

Based on the series of graphic novels, the follow-up show Watchmen follows the events following the Tulsa Massacre and the rise of vigilantes. Regina King stars with Don Johnson and Jeremy Irons. Computer generated special effects added to the real places around the city like the Decatur Cemetery, Oakland Cemetery, and the Decatur Square.

Movies Filmed in Atlanta

The big screen loves Atlanta as a location, often transformed into otherworldly settings with the big studios. You might be surprised at which of your favorite movies were filmed here!

Baby Driver

The movie Baby Driver is about a hearing impaired getaway driver unwillingly working for a crew of bank robbers. It stars Lily James, Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, and Ansel Elgort. Downtown Atlanta plays heavily into the scenery, including The Candler Hotel, Pratt-Pullman Yard, the Georgia World Congress Center, and Bacchanalia.

The Blind Side

The Blind Side is the true story of football player Michael Oher who is adopted by a family and goes on to become an NFL star. Oher came from a drug-addicted mother but was a scholarship student. He is taken in by a local family and later goes on to play professionally.

The Academy Award-winning film stars Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, along with Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Kathy Bates, and Kim Dickens. The Buckhead neighborhood and a number of private schools were used.

Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy is about an elderly Jewish woman, played by Jessica Tandy, and her African American chauffeur, played by Morgan Freeman. They develop their relationship over the years in the American South. Dan Aykroyd also stars. The Druid Hills neighborhood was used, along with Castleberry Hill and Little Five Points.

Drumline

Set in the world of drumlines and historically black colleges, Drumline tells of a rising star street drummer from Harlem. He is recruited to go to school down south, but he soon finds that while he was the best back home, there are plenty of other talented drummers in Atlanta.

Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, and  Orlando  Jones star in the film. Most of the movie is set in downtown Atlanta, with appearances by the Georgia Dome, Clark Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures tells the untold true story of a team of African-American women who team up with NASA to compute mathematical data to launch the first successful space shuttle mission. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons star. The campus of Morehouse College, Emory University, and Fort McPherson were used.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games was primarily filmed in North Carolina, but the following movies, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, used many locations around Atlanta. Most famous is The Swan House, used as President Snow’s mansion, the Pratt-Pullman Yard, the Goat Farm, and the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Marvel Movies

In the last few years, dozens of Marvel movies have been filmed around Atlanta including (but not limited to!) Venom, Spiderman, Avengers, Black Panther, and Ant-Man. And it’s not just movies! WandaVision, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have also been filmed in Atlanta.

Among the popular locations used are Sweetwater Creek State Park, the High Museum of Art, the Porsche headquarters, and the old DeKalb Courthouse.

Smokey and the Bandit

In one of Burt Reynolds’ most memorable roles, Smokey and the Bandit was filmed throughout the South. Rednecks Bandit and Cledus accept a challenge to pick up a shipment of beer from Texas and return with it in a specified amount of time. Along the way, they have trouble with “the law” and pick up a young woman running away from her wedding, played by a young Sally Field.

The Lakewood area was used, along with roads in McDonough and Jonesboro. Burt Reynolds even had a house nearby for many years!

Tyler Perry Movies

Tyler Perry got his start in Atlanta so it makes sense that most of his projects would take place in the city. Among the Atlanta-filmed movies are Madea’s Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married, For Colored Girls, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, and Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Perry even has his own permanent studio in Atlanta at Fort McPherson and often uses the same house in Southwest Atlanta as Madea’s home.

Zombieland

In Zombieland, a shy college student exists in a world overtaken by the undead and attempts to go home to Ohio to see if his parents are still alive. Along the way, he is introduced to an unstable zombie hunter and a pair of sisters in search of a zombie-free amusement park. Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin star in the movie and its sequel.

Specific scenes were filmed at Atlanta Motor Speedway, One Park Place in Atlanta, downtown Hapeville and at a private residence on West Paces Ferry Road.

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