Where Was Sugar Filmed? All L.A. Shooting Locations Explained

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Apple TV+’s Sugar.

Summary

• Sugar’s filming locations in Los Angeles add authenticity to the noir series, paying homage to classic film noir movies set in the city.
• The show’s creator strategically chose LA for practical reasons, making it a convenient and fitting location for the detective series.
• Iconic LA locations like Granada Hills and Boardner’s are showcased in Sugar, adding to the rich, atmospheric setting of the series.

The Apple TV+ series Sugar uses real Los Angeles, California, filming locations to create the fictionalized version of Los Angeles in the genre-bending detective series. Led by actor Colin Farrell, Sugar follows a cinephile and private detective named John Sugar, who investigates the disappearance of Olivia Segel, the granddaughter of famous Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. However, things aren’t as they appear with the characters in Sugar. While it mixes together multiple film genres, its foundational basis of Sugar is noir. This explains the film’s setting. The genre of film noir is virtually synonymous with the city of Los Angeles, California.

Some of the best film noir movies took place in the city of Angels, including Double Indemnity, Criss Cross, and Nobody Lives Forever. As such, the choice by Sugar’s creator Mark Protosevich to place Apple TV+’s new series there fits the genre. The decision also serves a practical purpose since Hollywood is a prime location for actors and filming. In fact, Colin Farrell told Entertainment Weekly that the filming location attracted him to the project because he wouldn’t have to leave home. With numerous iconic Los Angeles locations available, questions arise about where in L.A. Sugar was filmed.

Granada Hills House, Los Angeles

A House John Visits During His Investigation In Sugar

When John begins his investigation in the series Sugar, he goes to houses to interview people. According to A2Z Filming Location, one of the first houses he visits was filmed at 17133 Nanette Street, Granada Hills, CA, USA. Granada Hills is a rich urban community about 30 minutes north of central Los Angeles and south of Santa Clarita. According to Neighborhood Scout, the neighborhood has a higher income than 91.5% of the United States, with 0.0% of the population living in poverty.

The wealth of the filming location shows in Sugar. The pool, topiaries, and sleek white architecture of the house all scream affluence in Hollywood. It’s the stereotypical imagery of a Los Angeles home. Interestingly, IMDb doesn’t list any other movies or TV series that were filmed at this house, though, making it a unique filming location.

Boardner’s By La Belle, Los Angeles

The Stephi Bar In Sugar

Boardner’s exudes the old-time Hollywood vibe, complete with a jukebox and mood lighting.

Like most movies and series filmed on-site, Sugar creates multiple fictional locations for John Sugar to visit. Instead, similar locations within Los Angeles were used as their location double. One example of this is the bar Stephi, which Detective Sugar visits early on. According to A2Z Filming Location, the production team filmed both the interiors and exteriors at the iconic Los Angeles establishment, Boardner’s by La Belle, located at the crossroads of Hollywood Blvd and North Cherokee Ave.

Opened in 1927 under the name My Blue Heaven and re-named in 1942, Boardner’s exudes the old-time Hollywood vibe, complete with a jukebox and mood lighting. Boardner’s is located in the historical landmark, the Cherokee Building. The exterior combines Spanish and Moorish architecture as well as Gothic decor. According to the Boardner’s website, Sugar is far from being in the first place to film in Boardner’s by La Belle. Other movies and TV series that used the bar include Hollywood Homicide, Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23, Arrested Development, and Crocodile Dundee in LA.

Sugar’s Colin Farrell has also acted as Oz in
The Batman
and Jim Street in

S.W.A.T.

Stack Interchange, Los Angeles

An Aerial Shot Of Los Angeles In Sugar

Though the setting would be apparent without them, Sugar uses multiple aerial and landscape shots in order to establish that Private Detective John Sugar is investigating in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles skyline is unmistakable, ensuring that anyone unfamiliar with the city would know where they are. One of the most interesting aerials showing the skyline seems to take place over the top of a stack Interchange freeway.

There are multiple stack interchanges in Los Angeles. The layouts are most recognizable when looking at it directly down from above; therefore, it can’t be determined exactly which stack interchange they used. However, it’s possible the Apple TV+ original show filmed above The Four-Level Interchange – the first-ever stack interchange in the world, completed in 1949.

Los Angeles, California

The Entire Sugar Series

The choice to set

Sugar

in L.A. and film there puts a magnifying glass over the less glitzy parts of the star-studded city.

While there are some recognizable filming locations in Sugar, multiple other sites throughout Los Angeles were used to film Sugar. The authenticity makes Sugar feel akin to the old noir films. It embodies the fact that Los Angeles isn’t New York City, the city that never sleeps. Even the character Sugar acknowledges the show that the nighttime in L.A. is quiet and dark, making it the perfect setting for a mystery.

What’s more, the choice to set Sugar in L.A. and film there puts a magnifying glass over the less glitzy parts of the star-studded city. After all, Los Angeles was also home to the Black Dahlia mystery, The Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and the Manson murders. It’s not unreasonable to think that a Hollywood producer’s granddaughter would get kidnapped in that city.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, A2Z Filming Location. Neighborhood Scout, Boardner’s website