Where Was Sweet Tooth Filmed? A Guide to the Locations in Season 2 - Netflix Tudum
- Kirsty Griffin/NetflixThe series was filmed in New Zealand but takes place in America.By Jean Bentley and Christopher HudspethApril 28, 2023
In Sweet Tooth, Gus (Christian Convery) spends the first 10 years of his life in one place: his Yellowstone home. But as circumstances force him to grow up, he ventures out into the world, and the show sees him constantly on the move as he travels the country, searching for Birdie (Amy Seimetz).
A number of other characters are also on journeys of their own. Some are intertwined with Gus’ journey, like those of Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), Bear (Stefania LaVie Owen) and Dr. Singh (Adeel Akhtar). Others, like Birdie, trek practically to the ends of the earth to find answers about the Sick. But whether the story is set in Colorado or Alaska, the majority of scenes are actually filmed at various New Zealand locations.
Executive producer Amanda Burrell describes New Zealand as “a treasure trove of beauty.” She adds, “Wherever you put the camera, it just makes it instantly cinematic.” We’ll point you directly to some of the screensaver-worthy locations where Sweet Tooth was filmed.
The Arctic
Season 2’s chilly opening scene shows Birdie venturing through arctic weather and doing a little spelunking. Showrunner Jim Mickle talked to Tudum about the challenging process of filming in such harsh conditions.
“We shot that on a glacier in the South Island in New Zealand, and that was a big thing. We went through so many different avenues of, ‘How are we going to do this?’ and then finally it was like, ‘I think we just have to do it.’
“So we ended up going for one day right before Christmas. We flew helicopters into this amazing glacier and shot. The scale was the thing that blew you away because when you’re out with that much white, you just can’t tell how big anything is. It was very difficult to shoot, but we learned a ton from it. I love that we were able to actually get to a real place like that to open the season and really put you in that environment.”
Gus’ Cabin and Yellowstone Woods
The cabin where we first meet Gus and Pubba (Will Forte), and where Gus later takes his new hybrid friends, was built for the show’s pilot, then disassembled — and then rebuilt from scratch in exactly the same spot when the full first season was filmed.
Essex County Zoo
An old Maori boys’ school called St. Stephen’s School stands in for the exterior of the Essex County Zoo, formerly the hybrids’ sanctuary and now the prison where the Last Men hold them hostage.
Cessna
The Last Men snatch Gus as he sits in front of the old Cessna, which was filmed on a hill in the Auckland suburb of Penrose.
Factory Town
Jepperd and Aimee arrive by boat to Factory Town, where they share a drink and open up about their individual experiences. The area’s aesthetic was inspired by the Sweet Tooth comic books, and integrates repurposed pieces of Season 1’s set, including train cars from Season 1, Episode 6.
Mickle had high praise for the set. “The art department did an amazing job and built all these different huts and that great windmill from scratch.” Dania Ramirez, who plays Aimee, said that the place, an old quarry and industrial ruins, stood out as a personal favorite filming location. “It was beautiful. When you walked away, you had this beautiful, cool historical site behind you.”
Refugee Convoy
Becky meets a group of travelers during her quest to locate Big Man and Gus; the fateful encounter takes place on Rountree Road, which connects the towns of Ngatea and Mangatarata.
Air Lord War Room and Airplane Hangar
Kids and grown-ups alike will enjoy visiting the location that serves as the headquarters of the Air Lords: MOTAT, aka New Zealand’s Museum of Transport and Technology, is a family-friendly collection of more than 300,000 items that highlight the history of Kiwi transportation.
Fort Smith Labs
The place where Dr. Gillian Washington’s research begins is also where Dr. Singh takes Gus in an attempt to learn more about Project Midnight Sun. In real life, it’s a community center built for the residents of the Te Tauoma housing development in Auckland.
Essex City High School
The now closed mental institution Kingseat Hospital stands in for Essex City High School, where Becky trains with her fellow Last Men recruits. The old hospital is rumored to be haunted, and the grounds are now the home of Spookers Haunted Attraction Theme Park.
Essex City Streets
Standing in for the fictional Essex City is the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, where you can go if you want to see the streets our heroes Jepp, Aimee and Becky navigate as they attempt to rescue the hybrids from the Last Men.
All About Sweet Tooth
- RecapWho will survive: the humans or hybrids?By Christopher HudspethJune 10
- Sneak PeekGus and the gang make travel plans, but a dark force is lurking.By Christopher HudspethJune 4
- NewsSeason 3 will be an “arctic story.”By Christopher HudspethMay 21
- Skip IntroThe star tells Skip Intro how she came to play Aimee Eden.By Anne CohenMay 5, 2023
- Needle DropIncluding Johnny’s musical moment.By Jean BentleyMay 1, 2023
- ExplainerWho died, who survived — and how it all went down.By Christopher HudspethMay 1, 2023
- Who’s WhoSay hi to the hybrids.By Ariana RomeroApril 28, 2023
- Previously OnAll the essentials about Gus, Jepp, Aimee and more, ahead of Season 2.By Christopher HudspethApril 28, 2023
Shop Sweet Tooth
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- Behind the Scenes“It’s like a big old scrapbook.”By Drew Tewksbury and Tara BitranAug. 9
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