Where is “Dexter: New Blood” filmed? The real Iron Lake
While Iron Lake, New York is fictional, the majority of filming for New Blood took place in a real town – Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
The production chose Shelburne Falls for its close-knit small-town vibes. “We wanted it to be a small town—and [the] population is something like 2,700—where everybody knows everybody else,” said Clyde Phillips, showrunner and executive producer. “People know things that happened two seconds ago.”
Shelburne Falls is a historic village composed of two towns on different sides of the river. Shelburne sits on the right and Buckland on the left. The Truss bridge, which connects the two towns, featured prominently in New Blood.
According to Atlas of Wonders, Fred’s Fish and Game Workshop (where Jim works) is located just next to one side of the bridge. The butcher shop is the McCusker’s Market Grocery, which is located on the opposite end. Exterior shots of the Iron Lake Tavern were filmed at the West End Pub, a restaurant overlooking the river. However, the restaurant was too small inside to film the dancing scenes.
The crew had to venture outside of Shelburne Falls to film scenes at the tavern’s interior. They found the perfect spot at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, Massachusetts. According to the restaurant’s website, Bull Run has been a tavern for centuries, and the same family has owned and operated it since the 1940s.
Other “Dexter: New Blood” filming locations
The Bull Run Restaurant wasn’t the only filming spot located outside of Shelburne Falls. The production also shot at locations across central and western Massachusetts. According to the Daily Hampton Gazette, the production took a pitstop at The Whately Diner to film scenes taking palace at the Fillin gas station. The diner is open 24/7 and is popular among real-life truckers passing through.
Edward Olsen’s mansion is the historic Thayer Estate in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The home was designed by architect Guy Lowell, who also designed the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. According to Zillow, this 21,802 square foot home has over 45 bedrooms and 28 baths spread across three floors. It sold in 2021 for a $2,000,000 price tag.
The Iron Mine and the Clark Caves were filmed at Tantiusques, an open-space reservation in Sturbridge. Tantiusques is home to one of the earliest mines in New England, where the Nipmuc tribe mined graphite to make paints as early as 1644. Today, the reservation is open year-round for outdoor activities, like hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and hunting.
The crew took full advantage of the weather
“Dexter: New Blood” takes place during the holiday season. Ice, snow, and Christmas decorations abound in the outdoor shots. So the production had to take full advantage of the Massachusetts weather.
“We had to build the schedule around [weather],” explained Marcos Siega, an executive producer and director of 6 New Blood episodes. “[We had to] shoot all of the winter scenes, exteriors, at the end of January, February, March, whenever we started, and then work our way to interiors.”
According to Siega, the time between shooting exterior and interior shots created a unique challenge for production: “So, the challenging part is we’re shooting a Dexter, “Jim”, walking into a building and we shoot that out in the elements. And then in July, we’re picking it up with the other side of the door, when he steps inside. So it is a bit of a puzzle, keeping that consistent, keeping performances consistent.”
We don’t know about you, but we think they nailed it! Michael C. Hall is as convincing as ever in his signature role. And newcomers like Julia Jones brought a new layer of intrigue to the revival.
Love all of Showtime’s popular series? Then you need to see where “Shameless” was filmed next!
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