Where was the Long Bright River filmed? All filming locations of the thriller series revealed

Long Bright River, the Peacock suspense thriller series that debuted on March 13, 2025, was filmed mainly in New York City, not in Philadelphia, where the story is set. The Brooklyn Home Reporter reported that filming occurred in Brooklyn neighborhoods Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights, which were recreated to resemble Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood.

The eight-episode limited series features Emmy-winning actress Amanda Seyfried as Mickey, a Philadelphia police officer who patrols a neighborhood hit by the opioid crisis while trying to find her missing sister. Long Bright River is an adaptation of Liz Moore's bestselling novel of the same name.

Although set in Philadelphia, the production opted to reimagine the city's unique Kensington neighborhood in Brooklyn. The principal photography was held in March 2024, a year almost to the date from when the show would be out.

The reasoning behind filming in New York and not Philadelphia was a pragmatic choice of production, although some work was done as research in the real Philadelphia sites for authenticity. Long Bright River follows Mickey as she investigates a string of murders to find her heroin-addict sister, Kacey, who went missing from the North Philly area.

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Brooklyn Filming Locations

The Brooklyn Home Reporter indicates that various particular sites within Brooklyn were employed for filming. Scenes were filmed along New Utrecht Avenue, including at the 79th Street train station. A house on Bay Ridge Parkway between 17th and New Utrecht avenues was utilized for filming domestic scenes.

"We brought Kensington to us," said Nikki Toscano.

The set transformation of Brooklyn into Philadelphia was so real that the Community Board 11 in the neighborhood had to let residents know that sets for portraying homelessness and drug use were part of filming and not a concern to the neighborhood.

The crew built a believable Philadelphia streetscape in these Brooklyn neighborhoods. Sets were constructed to evoke the look and feel of Kensington, a neighborhood central to the story's themes of addiction, crime, and family ties.

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Philadelphia Connections

Although the majority of filming was done in New York, the production had its ties to Philadelphia. CBS News Philadelphia reported that actress Amanda Seyfried and author Liz Moore came to the city in January 2024 to sit down with police officers for a ride-along experience. They visited specifically in the 26th Police District, which serves portions of Kensington.

During this visit, Seyfried and Moore took photos with district officers. These photographs were later posted on the district's Facebook page. This field trip assisted Seyfried in preparing for her character's career as a Philadelphia police officer. Adding a touch of authenticity, Seyfried herself hails from Allentown, Pennsylvania, as CBS News reports.

This local background may have influenced her to act out a Philadelphia-based character. The ride-along experience provided both the actress and the author with a glimpse into the actual police work in the neighborhood that inspired the novel.

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Production details and timeline of Long Bright River

The TV series adaptation of Long Bright River was initially announced in January 2024. Nikki Toscano was announced as the showrunner, and Amanda Seyfried was announced to play the lead. The show was scripted by the author Liz Moore, who, along with Toscano, was to be the executive producer as well.

The cast features Nicholas Pinnock as Truman Dawes, Ashleigh Cummings as Casey, Callum Vinson, and John Doman in lead roles. The production featured several big studios, including Sony Pictures Television and UCP, a unit of Universal Studio Group.

The shoot was in New York in March 2024, and the first episode of Long Bright River was directed by Hagar Ben-Asher. In preparation for her role, Seyfried participated in the January 2024 Philadelphia police ride-along prior to principal filming in New York.