Life became a whole lot sweeter the moment we stepped foot in Serenity — figuratively speaking, of course.
The idyllic South Carolina town serves as a main character in the feel-good Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias. And while Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue (Brooke Elliot) and Helen’s (Heather Headley) adventures take center stage, the small town’s unrivaled charm is captivating viewers left and right. Between the cozy wrap-around porches, historic homes and downtown streets, it’s no wonder that some Sweet Magnolias fans may even feel tempted to hit the road and experience the town’s charm in real life.
Is Serenity a real place?
Although Serenity looks and feels like the real deal, it’s completely fictional — just like the show’s storyline. To capture Serenity’s small-town feel, writer Sheryl Anderson drew inspiration from her visits to Sumter, South Carolina, a small city in the heart of the Palmetto State. “Each year as I travel from my home in Key Biscayne, Florida to my family’s summer cottage in Colonial Beach, Virginia, I make a stop in Sumter, South Carolina, to visit one of my family’s oldest and dearest friends, Donnie Clemons,” she wrote in the introduction to Stealing Home, the first book in the Sweet Magnolias series.
Real or not, Sheryl wants every single viewer to be able to place themselves in this made-up town. “Anderson repeated, throughout the shooting of the show, that it was important that everyone might see themselves in Serenity. I like that idea more than ever these days — Serenity not just as a place, but a state of mind,” director Norman Buckley shared on Instagram just days before the show’s debut in May 2020.
Where is Sweet Magnolias filmed?
As it turns out, the show isn’t even filmed in South Carolina. After scouting locations in major Southern cities — Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina, to name a few — they landed on the small town of Covington, Georgia, home to approximately 14,000 people. Even though it’s clearly a match made for Sweet Magnolias, it’s not the first time the quaint Georgia town has received the Hollywood treatment: Covington has been the filming location for The Vampire Diaries, Sweet Home Alabama and nearly 300 other star-studded projects, according to IMDB.
Covington’s natural beauty speaks for itself, but producer Daniel Paulson says it was the town’s attitude toward filming that really sealed the deal. “The police force, the various store owners, they welcomed us,” he told The Covington News. “Some places may not be as welcoming and friendly.”
Locals will notice a number of Covington landmarks throughout the show’s first and second season. Sullivan’s, the eatery owned by Dana Sue, is actually Mystic Grill — yep, the same one from The Vampire Diaries.
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The Corner Spa also has a connection to the popular CW drama: Some exterior shots were filmed at the Law Offices of Tommy Craig in downtown Covington, but a majority were shot at the Lee-Porter House, which Elena used as a hiding place during the season 2 episode, titled “Know Thy Enemy.”
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Sometimes, the Sweet Magnolias crew ventured to neighboring towns. Just 30 minutes from downtown Covington, you’ll find Serenity High School a.k.a. Henry County Middle School in McDonough, per Newsweek. Closer to Atlanta, there’s Oakhurst Presbyterian in Decatur, where they filmed all of the interior and exterior shots for Serenity’s Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
With a little TV magic, these real-life locations became an oasis of — dare we say — serenity.
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