Though it's shot at several sites south of Atlanta, the primary filming location for the AMC television show The Walking Dead is Senoia, Georgia. (Contrary to the way the word looks, Senoia is pronounced si-NOY, with the a being silent.) Shooting takes place from May through the middle of November, which means I missed by a week watching live segments of the season seven finale. The first season, six episodes, was shot in Atlanta-proper; season two on a private farm not too far from Senoia; a significant part of the third and fourth season were filmed in Senoia, itself doubling for fictional Woodbury in the show, although a real town called Woodbury is twenty-four miles south of Senoia; and much of the past three seasons have been shot in in Senoia, about fifty yards from its downtown, in a development called Alexandria in the show.
Conveniently located for me, the little town was less than a twenty-minute drive from Fayetteville, where I was staying. Because of my mostly-Type A personality I arrived in Senoia ninety minutes before a walking tour of the area was scheduled to start. I strolled around the two-block downtown, deserted at this hour, save for a few bicyclists, and primed myself for the upcoming formal walk. The Georgia Tour Company organizes these, which take place twice or more a day, depending on the time of year. They are scheduled to last two- to two-and-a-half hours and are led by a host dressed like one of the Walking Dead characters. The actual area covered on the tour is small, but the detail the guide goes into is substantial, keeping the guests both satiated and salivating for more.
Conveniently located for me, the little town was less than a twenty-minute drive from Fayetteville, where I was staying. Because of my mostly-Type A personality I arrived in Senoia ninety minutes before a walking tour of the area was scheduled to start. I strolled around the two-block downtown, deserted at this hour, save for a few bicyclists, and primed myself for the upcoming formal walk. The Georgia Tour Company organizes these, which take place twice or more a day, depending on the time of year. They are scheduled to last two- to two-and-a-half hours and are led by a host dressed like one of the Walking Dead characters. The actual area covered on the tour is small, but the detail the guide goes into is substantial, keeping the guests both satiated and salivating for more.
The photos below show locations mostly from the third and fourth seasons.
Much of the past three seasons take place in Alexandria, where our heroes, living and dead, have all sorts of adventures. While a couple of the houses and the church are false-fronts or empty shells, the other buildings in this development are real and occupied, with the television crew and the residents cooperating during filming. (We weren't allowed inside the perimeter.)
We'll be seeing this building from this view soon in season seven
Sorry, Glenn, I'm with Maggie now
The tour ended up lasting three hours, but it seemed shorter than that. As wonderful as it was to see so many of the filming locations of this landmark program; as great as Mara was as our guide, describing what we were looking at and telling us stories of her encounters with many members of the cast and crew; and as glorious as it was to be outside in the sunny, seventy-plus-degree weather, what I loved most about this tour was spending time with those with whom I share a passion, even if it is just a TV show. When we'd stop in front of a house or store front, Mara would preface her remarks with "Remember that scene when...," and we'd get all excited and start talking about it before she could say a word. That was so much fun. It's the eccentrics and geeks and nerds who make the world interesting and I just don't get to spend enough time with people like that. But I did on this day, and it was exquisite.