{"id":35285,"date":"2023-07-28T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T10:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=617107"},"modified":"2023-07-28T12:52:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T10:52:18","slug":"where-is-good-omens-filmed","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/where-is-good-omens-filmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is Good Omens filmed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Discover the filming locations for seasons 1 and 2 of Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s beloved fantasy novel. <\/p>

By Flora Carr\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 28 July 2023 at 10:15 AM<\/p>

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David Tennant and Michael Sheen are back in Good Omens<\/a> season 2 which, after many years of waiting, is finally available to stream on Prime Video<\/a> now.<\/p>\n

The new season features a mystery that takes our heroes<\/a> on a journey of discovery, charting elements from before The Beginning, to biblical times, grave robbing in Victorian Edinburgh, the Blitz of 1940s England, all the way through to modern day.<\/p>\n

But where were all of these varied sequences filmed, and where was the first season, which itself featured plenty of globe-trotting, shot back in 2017 and 2018?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the filming locations for Good Omens<\/a> seasons 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

Season 2 filming locations<\/h1>\n

Production for Good Omens season 2 was based at a studios in between Edinburgh and Glasgow, which is where the set of Soho from season 1 was recreated. This included Aziraphale\u2019s bookshop, The Dirty Donkey, The Newsagency and the \u201cGive Me Coffee\u201d shop.<\/p>\n

\"Aziraphale's<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Aziraphale\u2019s bookshop set for Good Omens season 2<\/span><\/figcaption> Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The set of Soho was originally built at Bovingdon Studios in Hertfordshire for season 1. In season 2 it was recreated by returning production designer Michael Ralph and set decorator Bronwyn Franklin, inside a large sound stage.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Dirty Donkey set for Good Omens season 2<\/span><\/figcaption> Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, location filming on the second season took place in Edinburgh, Stirling and the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Newsagency set for Good Omens season 2<\/span><\/figcaption> Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Michael Sheen said of being back in the bookshop set: \u201cIt was lovely to be back in the bookshop \u2013 after having seen it burnt down the ground. Clearly I had managed to save a few books! Actually, it was extraordinary \u2013 your brain does a double take \u2013 my desk, the cash machine, the record player \u2013 everything is all so familiar even though it is a totally different location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Prime Video<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Give Me Coffee set for Good Omens season 2<\/p>\n

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He continued: \u201cBut we have expanded \u2013 there is much more of the world of Soho here including Aziraphale\u2019s favourite \u2013 the magic shop and my favourite the pub \u2013 our world has grown.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Season 1 filming locations<\/h1>\n

Garden of Eden<\/h2>\n
\"eden\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

With lush vegetation on one side of the Garden of Eden\u2019s wall and a barren desert on the other, location scouts needed a place of extremes for the first location in human history. Shooting took place around Cape Town, South Africa, with the desert scenes filmed in the sun-bleached Atlantis Dunes just outside the city.<\/p>\n

In an interview for the show\u2019s accompanying book, The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion<\/a>, first assistant director Francesco Reidy explained the difficulties attached to filming in a miniature Sahara.<\/p>\n

\u201cFilming in those kind of areas is difficult,\u201d said Reidy. \u201cIt\u2019s exposed. It\u2019s very hot, there\u2019s no shade and you can burn easily. Bringing equipment is also a challenge. Everything had to come in on a fleet of four-wheel-drive jeeps or tractor-type vehicle, and there was a huge amount to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christopher<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Behind the scenes on Good Omens (photo by Christopher Raphael \u00a9 BBC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Some Garden of Eden scenes were also filmed at Cascade Country Manor, Paarl, built by the Duke of Bedford following World War Two. The location was chosen due to its stunning waterfall, but there was a problem: at the time of shooting, production took place during a severe drought in the Western Cape province.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to ask the special effects department to find a way to pick up water from the bottom and redistribute it to the top,\u201d Reidy said. \u201cIt was a complicated business, but much to our surprise we found there was still some water coming down, which really helped. Despite the problems in the city, this water was sourced from the mountains, so we were able to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Behind<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Behind the scenes on Good Omens in South Africa (Christopher Raphael \u00a9 BBC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

South Africa also provided the backdrop for various scenes, including sites for the recreation of several flashback scenes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Escalator to Heaven and Hell<\/h2>\n
\"heaven-and-hell\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

It might surprise Good Omens viewers when they realise that both Heaven and Hell are accessed by the same office lobby: one escalator leads straight to a heavenly corporate boardroom, while the other leads down to a (literally) hellish basement.<\/p>\n

Locations scouts searched heaven and earth for the lobby in question: Broadgate Tower on Bishopgate, London, which has a polished floor that reflects the escalators moving upwards, creating a mirror effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those modern, huge, very expensive steel and wire buildings, inside of which companies valued at millions of pounds conduct their business,\u201d Reidy said. \u201cStanding inside this magnificent lobby, Douglas [Mackinnon] and Michael [Ralph] realised the shiny marble floor reflected the escalators moving up into the body of the building.<\/p>\n

\"Sophie<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Behind the scenes on Good Omens (Sophie Mutevelian \u00a9 BBC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u201cIt had the effect of creating a mirror image, and this led to an idea that when one person goes up the escalator to Heaven, and the other person steps onto one that seemingly drop down into Hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final shot used a mix of real world and visual effects, with a green screen in the background to recreate the mirrored effect.<\/p>\n

Tadfield<\/h2>\n
\"tadfield\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

Tadfield, the home of the young Antchrist Adam Young<\/a>, is a quintessentially English village. It\u2019s perfect \u2014 Adam\u2019s unwitting influence over the weather means that every season has its ideal weather: scorching Augusts, picture-perfect white Christmases, and crisp autumns.<\/p>\n

The \u201cchocolate-box\u201d village of Hambledon near Henley-on-Thames<\/strong> provided the perct setting.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heaven<\/h2>\n
\"heaven\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

In Good Omens, Heaven is a big organisation run with zealous efficiency by the business-minded Angel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) \u2014 all of which required a heavenly corporate headquarters\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found a vacant office building in a smart business park in Weybridge, Surrey,\u201d said location manager Nick Marshall. \u201cIt had a tiled floor, white pillars and 13 floor-to-ceiling windows. We had to frost every single one of them to get the light looking celestial. It really did have a heavenly vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hell<\/h2>\n

If Heaven is prime real estate, then Hell is the lowly basement office of a struggling business \u2014 cramped, dingy, and in need of a good lick of paint. Hell scenes were filmed in Cape Town, where the location crew found a former abattoir and filled it with mismatched plastic chairs, strewn litter and lights dangling form the ceiling.<\/p>\n

Neil Gaiman also created tortuous motivational posters for the walls of Hell, with captions such as, \u201cYou Don\u2019t Matter\u201d, and, \u201cFor More Efficient Service Just Rip Out Your Own Throat With A Stapler\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had too much fun with these,\u201d Gaiman said. \u201cThe hardest part was just persuading he art department that I was serious about getting them to forget everything they had ever learned about design.\u201d<\/p>

Hogback Wood<\/h2>\n
\"Adam-Young-Good-Omens\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

A woodland utopia and the spiritual home of the Them, Adam Young\u2019s gang of four youngsters (himself, Pepper, Wensleydale and Brian), Hogback Wood had to resemble a scene from Just William.<\/p>\n

A suitably idyllic spot was found in Painshill Park, Surrey, where location scouts noticed a huge crater, formed after a bomb dropped there during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the crater would be significant,\u201d production designer Michael Ralph said. \u201cThis is where Adam has found his world, his Eden, unaware that he\u2019s the Antichrist, and a bomb has gone off here. It was a happy accident!\u201d<\/p>\n

Good Omens season 2 is available to stream on Prime Video now \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days<\/a>. Plus, read our guides to the\u00a0best Amazon Prime series<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0best movies on Amazon Prime<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Find something to watch tonight with our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>, or visit our\u00a0Fantasy<\/a>\u00a0hub for more news and features.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only \u00a31 with delivery to your home\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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