Where Were The Famous Five TV Episodes Filmed On Location?

If you meant five particular, iconic TV episodes and where they were filmed, I’ll narrow the focus: I tend to think of location work as a mix of urban and remote, so here are five that stand out to me and the real places behind them.

'Game of Thrones' used Dubrovnik for the bulk of King’s Landing’s exterior scenes; the city’s medieval walls and stairways are literally the show’s postcard. When the plot moved north, the production shifted to Northern Ireland for castle interiors and various rugged coasts, and to Iceland for scenes beyond the Wall. For modern crime drama, 'Breaking Bad' is inseparable from Albuquerque, New Mexico — the pilot and much of Walter White’s transformation are shot there, using local streets, a car wash, and the surrounding desert to set mood.

On a different tonal register, 'Twin Peaks' filmed many of its most memorable bits around Snoqualmie and North Bend in Washington, including the waterfall and the quirky local diner. 'Sherlock' favors London locations — the visually known 221B is actually North Gower Street and other landmarks like St Bart’s Hospital stand in for certain interiors. Each production chose places that feel lived-in and photogenic; location choices aren't just backdrops, they become characters themselves in these episodes. If you like, I can point you to exact addresses and visitor tips for any one of these — some spots are tourist magnets, others are surprisingly low-key.

I like keeping it short and practical: five famously shot TV episodes (or clusters of episodes) you might be thinking of were filmed in very different real-world places. 'Breaking Bad' — Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the desert and local cityscapes create that intense, lonely vibe. 'Game of Thrones' — Dubrovnik (King’s Landing), Northern Ireland (many castles and countryside scenes) and Iceland (far north sequences). 'Twin Peaks' — Snoqualmie and North Bend, Washington, with the famous falls and diner. 'Sherlock' — central London locations, including North Gower Street for the 221B exterior and St Bart’s for hospital scenes. 'The Sopranos' — filmed across New Jersey (notably North Caldwell and surrounding counties). I’ve visited a couple of these and can confirm the way a real street or cliffside can totally change how you watch a scene next time — it’s a tiny kind of magic.

I've always loved playing the tourist who chases TV locations, so if you're asking where five of the most famous TV episodes were actually shot on location, here’s a travel-sized guide from someone who’s stood in those exact spots and snapped too many photos.

First up, 'Breaking Bad' — almost everything iconic from that pilot and many early episodes was filmed in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico. The stark desert, the car wash, and the houses give the show its lonely, cinematic feel. I remember the heat hitting me like a prop when I visited the fast-food joint they used; it’s weirdly grounding to see fiction in full sunlight. Next, 'Game of Thrones' episodes that featured King’s Landing were filmed on location in Dubrovnik, Croatia; massive scenes and royal processions climb the city walls. Northern Ireland and Iceland were also major stand-ins for other big sequences, so if you’re mapping it, those three regions cover a ton.

Then there's 'Twin Peaks' — the pilot and a lot of the early series were shot around Snoqualmie and North Bend in Washington State. Snoqualmie Falls is jaw-dropping in person and the diner (now Twede’s) still leans into the show’s history. 'Sherlock' (the modern series) keeps you close to London: exterior shots like the 221B doorway are filmed around North Gower Street and places like St Bart’s Hospital show up for big scenes. Finally, 'The Sopranos' used a lot of real New Jersey locations — the Soprano house is in North Caldwell and a lot of mob-y neighborhood scenes were shot around Essex County and Jersey City. Visiting these places felt like walking through a scrapbook of scenes I’d rewatched a hundred times, and every doorway and waterfront carried a small, excited frisson of recognition.