Where was crime drama The Killing filmed? Based on the BAFTA-winning Danish TV show Forbrydelsen, The Killing stars Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman as homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder who investigate a series of grisly murders on their beat. Although it ran for a total of four seasons, the crime drama had something of a rocky history – airing on AMC for its first two seasons before being cancelled, revived, cancelled again and finally revived once more for a final season by Netflix.
The original Scandi drama took place in Copenhagen but the American adaptation moved the action to Seattle, Washington – a setting described as “brooding” by The Killing showrunner Veena Sud in a Seattle Times interview in which she also revealed she chose the city because it reminded her of the Danish capital. The Pacific Northwest setting certainly helped its ambiance, with the region’s often overcast skies providing a suitably gloomy backdrop to its murder mysteries.
While the show’s cinematographers captured some establishing shots of Seattle, The Killing was actually filmed in another region of the Pacific Northwest – specifically in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. No doubt Vancouverite viewers spotted a local landmark or two like Vancouver International Airport, Lonsdale Quay Market on the North Shore or the Vancouver Convention Center - the location of mayoral candidate and murder suspect Darren Richmond’s (Billy Campbell) offices in The Killing and a landmark that’s also been featured in shows like Altered Carbon.
The Killing also featured scenes filmed at downtown locations including Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Art Gallery while others were shot at various locations around Metro Vancouver including Bowen Island (which stood in for Washington’s Vashon Island in season 3) and the Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam. In The Killing’s fourth and final season, the cast and crew also filmed some scenes further afield at Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island which stood in for the fictional St. George’s Military Academy.
The Killing is just one of many productions shot in Vancouver. Thanks to a number of movies and TV shows taking advantage of its attractive film tax incentives, the city is nicknamed “Hollywood North” and was even the subject of a gag on a Vancouver-set episode of The Simpsons which featured a road sign saying “Come for the film tax credits, stay for the marijuana.” Alongside The Killing, other TV shows filmed in and around Vancouver include Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina and the first five seasons of The X-Files.