Primary Filming Locations for Stranger Things Season 2
The production of Stranger Things season 2 was centered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional scenes shot in the nearby city of Jackson, Georgia, and in Nashville, Tennessee. The series was filmed in the greater Atlanta metro area, which has become a major hub for film and television production in the United States. The Georgia Film Office reported that the state offered tax incentives that supported the extended shooting schedule for the season. The show's creators chose locations that could double for the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, using a mix of urban streets, rural backdrops, and purpose-built sets. Filming wrapped in early 2017, with the season premiering on Netflix later that year.
Key exterior shots for the Upside Down and forest scenes were filmed in state parks and wooded areas around Atlanta. The production team used locations such as the Sweetwater Creek State Park and areas near the Chattahoochee River to create the eerie, dense woodland feel required for the show. The Georgia Film Commission confirmed that the state's diverse landscapes allowed the crew to shoot both suburban neighborhoods and remote forested areas within a short drive. The use of practical sets and real locations was a deliberate choice to maintain the grounded, 1980s aesthetic of the series. These real-world sites became popular destinations for fans seeking to recreate scenes from the season.
Specific Georgia and Tennessee Sites Used in Season 2
The Hawkins High School scenes were filmed at the actual Walton High School and other Atlanta-area campuses, while the interior of the Byers house was a constructed set in a warehouse facility. The Starcourt Mall, a central location in the season, was built on a soundstage, but exterior shots used real retail sites in the Atlanta metro area. The show's production design team sourced period-appropriate signage, props, and architectural details from locations in Georgia and Tennessee to match the 1984 setting. The Georgia Department of Economic Development highlighted the season's filming as a boost to local tourism and the regional economy.
In Tennessee, the production used locations in and around Nashville to represent the road trip sequences and some rural scenes. The crew filmed at the Old Stone Fort and nearby natural areas to capture the look of the forests surrounding Hawkins. The use of real locations in both Georgia and Tennessee allowed the visual effects team to integrate the digital Upside Down elements with practical backgrounds more seamlessly. The final visual effects were handled by multiple studios, with the show's VFX supervisors coordinating on-set supervision during the Tennessee and Georgia shoots. This hybrid approach of real locations and digital augmentation became a signature of the series' production pipeline.
Production Companies, Streaming Platform, and Filming Logistics
The Duffer Brothers developed the season for Netflix, with 21 Laps Entertainment and Monkey Massacre Productions serving as the primary production companies. Netflix's global distribution model allowed the season to premiere simultaneously in over 190 countries, making the filming locations a topic of international interest. The production adhered to Georgia's film incentive program, which offers a transferable tax credit of up to 30 percent for qualified expenditures. The Georgia Film Office reported that the series contributed to the state's ranking as a top destination for film and television production in the United States.
The logistics of moving equipment and crew between Atlanta, Jackson, and Nashville required careful planning, with the production using a base camp model to minimize travel time. The show's location managers secured permits for public and private sites, coordinating with local authorities in each jurisdiction. The use of real locations also meant that the production had to manage crowd control and fan access during filming, a challenge that has become common for high-profile Netflix series. The success of the season reinforced the model of using the greater Atlanta area as a primary filming hub for major television productions, a trend documented by industry analysts and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. For more details on the Georgia film incentive