Yahoo Lifestyle How 'Sweet Magnolias' Makes Serenity Look Like a Real Place
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Life became a whole lot sweeter the moment we stepped foot in Serenity — figuratively speaking, of course.
The quaint, idyllic South Carolina town is a main focus on the hit Netflix series Sweet Magnolias, now airing season 4. The show focuses on the bond between Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) and Helen (Heather Headley), and their love for Serenity is palpable through the screen. And it's hard not to fall for the charm Serenity brings, with plenty of cozy wrap-around porches, historic homes and bustling downtown streets.
As Sweet Magnolias continues to attract viewers with every new season, we can't help but wonder if there's a way to step into Serenity for ourselves. As it turns out, the answer is surprising.
Is Serenity from Sweet Magnolias a real place?
Although Serenity looks and feels like the real deal, it's completely fictional — just like the show's storyline.
To capture Serenity's small-town feel, author Sherryl Woods (who wrote the Sweet Magnolias book series) chose to garner inspiration from her visits to Sumter, South Carolina, a small city in the heart of the Palmetto State. "Each year as I travel from my home in Key Biscayne, Florida to my family's summer cottage in Colonial Beach, Virginia, I make a stop in Sumter, South Carolina, to visit one of my family's oldest and dearest friends, Donnie Clemons," she wrote in the introduction to Stealing Home, the first book in the series.
Real or not, Sweet Magnolias wants every single viewer to be able to place themselves in this made-up town. "[Showrunner] Sheryl Anderson repeated, throughout the shooting of the show, that it was important that everyone might see themselves in Serenity. I like that idea more than ever these days — Serenity not just as a place, but a state of mind," director Norman Buckley shared on Instagram just days before the show's debut in May 2020.
Where is Sweet Magnolias filmed?
As it turns out, Sweet Magnolias doesn't even film in South Carolina. Instead, they go to another Southern state to get that unforgettable charm for Serenity.
After scouting locations in major Southern cities — Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina, to name a few — the show eventually settled on filming in the small town of Covington, Georgia. Home to approximately 15,000 people (per the U.S. Census), the town is clearly a match made in heaven to film Sweet Magnolias in.
Covington's natural beauty speaks for itself, but producer Daniel Paulson says it was the town's attitude toward filming that really sealed the deal. "The police force, the various store owners, they welcomed us," he told The Covington News. "Some places may not be as welcoming and friendly."
Sometimes, the Sweet Magnolias crew ventured to neighboring towns. Just 30 minutes from downtown Covington, you'll find Serenity High School a.k.a. Henry County Middle School in McDonough, per Newsweek. Closer to Atlanta, there's Oakhurst Presbyterian Church in Decatur, where they filmed all of the interior and exterior shots for Serenity's Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
Are other projects filmed on the set of Sweet Magnolias?
Surprisingly, yes! It's not the first time the quaint Georgia town has received the Hollywood treatment: Covington has been the filming location for The Vampire Diaries, Sweet Home Alabama and nearly 300 other star-studded projects, according to IMDB.
What's more, People revealed a special connection to Covington for Sweet Magnolias location manager Brad Smith. He also working on the TV version of the movie In the Heat of the Night, which filmed in the area back in the late '80s and early '90s. "It's gone from a sleepy little town to a very vibrant community now," Smith shared.
Locals will notice a number of Covington landmarks throughout the show's first and second season. Sullivan's, the eatery owned by Dana Sue, is actually Mystic Grill — yep, the same one from The Vampire Diaries.
The Corner Spa also has a connection to the popular CW drama: Some exterior shots were filmed in downtown Covington, but a majority were shot at the Lee-Porter House, which Elena used as a hiding place during the season 2 episode, titled "Know Thy Enemy."
With a little TV magic, these real-life locations became an oasis of — dare we say — serenity.
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