JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

The show you're watching was shot in LA | The LA TV location map 2026

The show you're bingeing may have been shot on a street you'll drive past next time you're in LA. From The Studio, Hacks, The Rookie and Euphoria to Bosch and Mad Men: only restaurants, bars, hotels and studio tours whose doors you can open; not a single character's 'house.'

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. 00 | In LA, your binge-watching spills into the weekend

    In Taipei, bingeing a show happens on the couch; in LA, the diner where the characters eat breakfast and the bar where the lead has a drink are real, open, and you can go sit there.

  2. 01 | Fan etiquette (the most important page)

    'At the places from shows, be a customer; leave the homes from shows inside the show.' Skip private homes, only enter studios on official tours, and if you run into a crew, follow the staff's directions.

  3. 02 | The Studio: roasting Hollywood, shot in Hollywood's oldest corners

    It won 13 Emmys in 2025. Have the garlic bread at Smoke House next to the WB lot, or a drink at The Spare Room, the bar with bowling lanes at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

  4. 03 | Hacks: looks like Vegas, actually old LA

    It wrapped in May 2026, and the final season was shot almost entirely in Vegas, but a lot of Palmetto in earlier seasons was old LA landmarks like The Biltmore, the Wilshire Ebell and The Wiltern.

  5. 04 | The Rookie: the station is a water and power building

    The show's Mid-Wilshire station is, from the outside, DTLA's John Ferraro Building. People actually work there, so just admire the exterior from the Grand Park side.

  6. 05 | Solving cases yesterday, doing yoga next to you today

    While taking class at Alo HQ, I ran into an actress from The Rookie. In LA, the shows and real life are sometimes just a street apart.

  7. 06 | Euphoria: the town is fake, the diner isn't

    Pann's, where Rue and Ali have their long talk, is 1958 Googie architecture, open for breakfast and lunch only; Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale is the season one roller rink.

  8. 07 | Bosch ①: follow a detective through old Downtown

    Grand Central Market → the Bradbury Building → Angels Flight, all less than five minutes apart on foot; season four opens right here.

  9. 08 | Bosch ②: the old spots after hours

    Musso & Frank (the first and last episodes), the Frolic Room, Formosa Café, Du-par's. 'Every place Bosch goes after work is older than the show.'

  10. 09 | Mad Men: LA plays 1960s New York

    Pete recommends the pastrami at Canter's; The Prince in Koreatown still has its red leather booths from 1949, and Don Draper ate there several times.

  11. 10 | Korean American LA: where Beef and K-dramas filmed

    Beef was mostly shot in the Valley and Koreatown; The Prince now serves Korean fried chicken; Lee Min-ho's California scenes in The Heirs were shot on the beach in Malibu.

  12. 11 | Warner Bros.: Central Perk and Stars Hollow

    Central Perk is a real filming set, and there's a real, working Central Perk Café next to it; Midwest Street is Stars Hollow, and also Rosewood.

  13. 12 | Universal: past Wisteria Lane on the tram

    Desperate Housewives' whole street is on the studio lot, and Devi's house in Never Have I Ever is Susan's old house. Sit on the left for the best view, though there's no guarantee you'll pass it every time.

  14. 13 | Please don't go to these

    The homes in Modern Family, The Studio, Hacks, Beef and Bosch are all private residences, and their addresses aren't public. To see a 'home,' take a studio tour. 'The show's over, but the people who live there still have lives.'

  15. 14 | One location, several shows

    The Biltmore has played roles in Hacks and Bosch, Union Station in Euphoria and The Rookie, and Smoke House in The Studio and The Office. 'LA's old-school spots are all great actors >_<'

  16. 15 | A TV-fan day route

    Burbank version: WB tour → Smoke House → TCL Chinese → Musso & Frank → the Spare Room. Downtown version: Union Station → Angels Flight → the Biltmore's Gallery Bar.

  17. 16 | Before you go

    Pann's is breakfast and lunch only, book Musso & Frank and Smoke House ahead, and buy studio tour tickets on the official sites and bring photo ID. 'One route a day is plenty; don't try to do it all at once.'

  18. 17 | Two-city mirror

    Light the Night was shot in a bar in Taipei's Tiaotong alleys; Stars Hollow is a whole little town built on a studio lot. 'In Taipei, following a show means finding that alley; in LA, it means walking into that town.'

  19. 18 | What about La La Land?

    I've written all of those locations into my new book, Los Angeles + Las Vegas; to walk the route, just flip through it.

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An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).