Why Vancouver is always a stand-in for San Francisco in movies and TV shows (2021)

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:26 PM UTC

carabiner wrote: post #8

Tax breaks for filming and it's not SF specific or even cities. Other planets too, like Stargate SG-1 being filmed around Squamish 1 hour away.

Post by zulux » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #11

carabiner wrote: post #8

Tax breaks for filming and it's not SF specific or even cities. Other planets too, like Stargate SG-1 being filmed around Squamish 1 hour away.

Shooting on location halfway across the galaxy definitely seems like it would strain the union's rate schedule. If you can take a Stargate so that you could be back home on the same day so you only have to pay local rates would be amazing.

Post by m-ee » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #5

And Toronto is New York City.

Post by ecshafer » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:53 PM UTC

tecoholic wrote: post #14

topkai22 wrote: post #10

Psych (the TV show) was set in Santa Barbara but filmed in Vancouver. They then did an episode where the plot was that characters all took a trip to British Columbia, which I recall being amusingly meta.

Wow. With all the beach, pier and flyby shots, as a non-American, I really thought it was all shot in Santa Barbara. Man. What editing can do.

Post by tomega2134 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:53 PM UTC

tecoholic wrote: post #14

topkai22 wrote: post #10

Psych (the TV show) was set in Santa Barbara but filmed in Vancouver. They then did an episode where the plot was that characters all took a trip to British Columbia, which I recall being amusingly meta.

Wow. With all the beach, pier and flyby shots, as a non-American, I really thought it was all shot in Santa Barbara. Man. What editing can do.