The coastal town of Charleston, South Carolina is one of the oldest cities in America, and it has been voted the number one city in both the world and the United States multiple times. It turns out the giant oaks and palm trees that line this city's streets make it more than an ideal vacation spot: Charleston has also become a popular destination for folks filming movies and television series.
While a lot of people are familiar with Bravo's contentious, yet popular, reality TV show Southern Charm, which was filmed in Charleston, just as many are likely unaware of other successful ventures shot within the city limits. Like Atlanta, Charleston has become a Southern mecca for all things entertainment in recent years.
The Sinner (2017 - )
Based on a German novel of the same name, The Sinner is an anthology crime series, and its first season was filmed on location in Charleston. Bill Pullman plays a detective named Harry Ambrose who is investigating the stabbing death of a man. The suspect is a woman named Cora Tannetti, played by Jessica Biel.
The first season received two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination. Biel was praised for her performance, and the show's unpredictably in a flooded genre stands out.
The Notebook (2004)
One of the most popular romance films ever, responsible for turning Ryan Gosling into a heartthrob, The Notebook wouldn't be the movie it is without the Charleston area marshes, rivers, and Spanish moss-filled trees that form the backdrop of the film. The love story, which spans decades, follows Gosling's character and Rachel McAdams' character from the 1940s into the present.
Most of the film takes place on an island south of Charleston called Seabrook Island. One anachronism in the movie involves a mushy love scene at a beach lined with rocky peaks. Charleston is part of a geographical region known as the Lowcountry, and all of its beaches are completely flat.
Mr. Mercedes (2017 - )
All three seasons of the DirecTV series Mr. Mercedes were filmed in Charleston. Starring Brendan Gleeson, the show is adapted from a series of Stephen King novels about a cat-and-mouse game between a retired detective and a serial killer. Gleeson plays the detective, Bill Hodges, and Harry Treadaway plays the serial killer, Brady Hartsfield.
The show's filming focused around the Wagener Terrance neighborhood of downtown Charleston, as well as different establishments along one of the city's main drags: King Street.
Halloween (2018)
Believe it or not, Michael Myers made his cinematic return in 2018 navigating the muggy backroads of the Charleston area. While the city is made to look like Haddonfield, Illinois, it still garnered plenty of attention for being the true filming location of David Gordon Green's revival.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays iconic final girl Laurie Strode, reunited with the original actor who played Michael Myers, Nick Castle, for the film. Green joined forces with long-time collaborator Danny McBride (yes, THAT Danny McBride) to write the script and produce. The success of the film inspired Green and McBride to add two sequels. The second, Halloween Kills, recently wrapped up production in North Carolina, and it will be released in October 2020.
The Righteous Gemstones (2019 - )
Danny McBride, a native Georgian, loves Charleston so much he decided to move there and base a new production company out of it with David Gordon Green. McBride's latest HBO comedy venture, about a wealthy televangelist family, is filmed in and around Charleston.
John Goodman plays the patriarch, Eli Gemstone, and McBride is the oldest of his three children, all of whom vie for their father's approval. The other Gemstones are played by Adam DeVine and Edi Patterson. It also features memorable performances from Walter Goggins and Tony Calvarelo as a former Satanist. It has been renewed for a second season.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
At the height of his comedy career, Jim Carrey managed to pull off the idiosyncratic pet detective Ace Ventura. The films were box office hits despite being lambasted by critics. This 1995 sequel was filmed in various locations, but its jungle and African village scenes were shot at a preserved beach near Charleston called Botany Bay.
A Georgian mansion called Cherokee Plantation is the setting for the British Consulate scenes in Bonai.
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
A few of the most iconic scenes in the third installment of the Die Hard action franchise were filmed in Charleston. Even though it takes place in New York City, a now-demolished bridge that extended over the Cooper River and connected the city of Charleston to a suburb called Mount Pleasant was used for the scene where Willis's McClane and Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus jump onto a container ship from a bridge on the Long Island Sound.
The film's subway scenes were shot in nearby North Charleston on the grounds of an old plant. The crew constructed a quarter-mile of tracks and brought train cars down from New York City.
Vice Principals (2016 - 2018)
Danny McBride co-created this show with Jody Hill, which follows the trials and tribulations of two vice principals angling for the top spot at their high school. Vice Principals lasted for two seasons, and McBride plays Neal Gamby, who is in competition with Walton Goggins's character Lee Russell.
The entire series was shot in Charleston, and the opening episode stars a comedian who relocated to Charleston decades ago: Bill Murray. Murray is such a Charlestonian now that he's co-owner of city's minor league baseball team the River Dogs.
O (2001)
O is Tim Blake Nelson's modern update of Shakespeare's drama Othello. Nelson's film stars three of the most promising young actors at the time: Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, and Julia Stiles. Hartnett plays Hugo, a jealous high school student who hatches a plot against his perceived rival, Phifer's Odin.
The film was shot exclusively in Charleston. It was originally set to be released in 1999, but its themes of overt sexuality and school violence caused it to be shelved until 2001 in light of the Columbine shoots.
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is the only feature film from British director Peter Care, famous for producing music videos. While the book the film is based on takes place in Savannah, Georgia, Care decided to shoot it in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Most of the film was shot in the residential neighborhoods that compromise the northern limits of downtown Charleston.
Emile Hirsch and Kiernan Culkin both star in the film, with supporting performances from Jodie Foster, Jenna Malone, and Vincent D'Onfrio. While the film has fallen into obscurity, it received positive reviews when it was released.