8 TV Series Filmed in a Different Country From the One They’re Set In

Television can make you believe you’re in Westeros, Gotham, or a small town in Maine. Often, though, the cameras were rolling somewhere else entirely. Tax incentives, studio infrastructure, and the right landscapes all push productions across borders.

Here are eight well-known series that tell stories set in one country but were mostly shot in another. I’ve kept to facts that are widely documented and avoided guessing at specifics.

1. Game of Thrones

The fantasy world of Westeros and Essos isn’t a real country, but its look came largely from Northern Ireland. The production based its main studio operations at the Titanic Studios in Belfast. Many exteriors were filmed around Northern Ireland, which is why fans still tour sites there.

The show also traveled widely beyond that base. Croatia stood in for King’s Landing, with Dubrovnik as the main location, and Iceland and Malta also appeared on screen. It’s a good example of one fictional setting being stitched together from several real countries.

2. The Witcher

Netflix’s The Witcher adapts Polish fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, set in a fictional Continent with Slavic influences. Yet the series was filmed largely in Hungary and the United Kingdom, with Hungarian studios and locations used heavily. Poland itself is not the primary filming home.

Other locations have included Spain’s Canary Islands and parts of Slovakia and Austria. As with many fantasy shows, the production chose varied terrain over loyalty to the source’s cultural origin.

3. Riverdale

Riverdale is set in a small American town, drawing on Archie Comics. In reality it was filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. Several areas near Vancouver, including Langley and Burnaby, doubled for the show’s fictional locations.

Vancouver has long been used as a stand-in for American towns, and that’s one reason it earned the nickname “Hollywood North.” Much of the appeal comes from its established crew base and varied scenery.

4. Outlander

Outlander follows a woman who travels from 1940s Britain to 18th-century Scotland. Unsurprisingly, Scottish locations feature prominently, but much of the production is based at Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld, Scotland. That part is actually accurate to the setting.

The twist comes later. The show’s American-set storylines, particularly in North Carolina, were not filmed there. Scotland’s studio and landscapes were used for the colonial America scenes too, which makes this one a partial entry on the list.

5. Chernobyl

HBO’s 2019 miniseries about the 1986 nuclear disaster is set in Ukraine and the Soviet Union. It was filmed mainly in Lithuania, using locations such as the decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The area gave the production an authentic industrial look.

The town of Pripyat was recreated using a Soviet-era housing district in Fabijoniškės, Vilnius. Because filming in the real exclusion zone wasn’t practical for a full drama, Lithuania provided a close visual match.

6. The Handmaid’s Tale

Set in Gilead, a dystopian version of the United States, the series was filmed primarily in Ontario, Canada. Toronto and nearby places such as Hamilton and Cambridge were used for many scenes. Historic buildings and neighborhoods helped build the show’s look.

Canada appears in the story itself as a place of refuge, which adds a small irony. The show’s production base there is a reminder of how often Canadian cities double for American ones.

7. Vikings

Vikings tells the story of Scandinavian raiders, with settings in Norway, Denmark, England, and beyond. The series was filmed largely in Ireland, with production based at Ashford Studios in County Wicklow. Irish landscapes, including cliffs and forests, stood in for much of the Viking world.

In later seasons, Norway’s fjords were recreated with a mix of Irish locations and digital effects. Ireland’s scenery and a supportive film industry made it a practical home for the show.

8. Gotham

Gotham is a fictional American city, and the Fox series was filmed in New York City, so that example is largely local. A closer comparison is Arrow, which is set in Starling City but filmed in Vancouver. Arrow is a clear case of a fictional American city shot in Canada.

The show used Vancouver’s streets and industrial areas for its urban settings throughout its run. It sits alongside Riverdale as another example of the city’s role in North American TV production.

Taken together, these shows reveal a simple truth: on screen geography is often a creative choice, not a literal one. Studio facilities, incentives, and terrain shape where stories are filmed. Next time a series transports you somewhere, it’s worth checking where the crew actually set up their cameras.