'Yallywood': Top Filming Locations You Can Tour In Georgia

GEORGIA — Georgia has quickly made a name for itself in the film industry as more TV shows and movies feature scenes from the Peach State, sometimes referred to as "Y'allywood." For 2019 alone, ExploreGeorgia.com lists more than 130 different films and TV programs shot in Georgia, with 39 currently being filmed.

Some of the most notable productions include "The Walking Dead," "Ozark," "Stranger Things," and "The Hunger Games."

Luckily for many fans, you can explore the state and find familiar spots to take photos at, re-create scenes and maybe even catch a live filming. Explore Georgia created a comprehensive guide to Georgia film locations and where fans can sneak a peek.

Patch made an interactive map with some top places to check out around the state if you want to see filming locations. Click on the blue arrow for information including what movie/TV show it was featured in and where it is located.

Official Film Tours

If you don't want to explore locations and sets on your own, consider the Georgia Film Trail to learn the inside scoop on locally-produced TV shows and movies. Listed below are only some tours offered around the state. Visit Georgia Film Trail for the comprehensive list of tour offerings.

• Atlanta Movie Tours reveals filming locations used in movie and television shows like "Driving Miss Daisy," "The Vampire Diaries," "Anchorman 2," "Good Deeds," "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," "The Walking Dead," and many more.
• Mystic Falls Tours takes visitors to locations used in "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals."
• The Walking Dead Studio Tour: Comprised of 150 acres of land in Senoia, visitors to The Walking Dead Studio Tour experience some of the series’ most iconic sets, including The Sanctuary (Negan’s lair), Hilltop (the grand Antebellum Mansion on 3.5 acres of working farmland), Oceanside (the seaside motor court shrouded in secrecy), The Heaps (aka Jadis’ junkyard), and Alexandria (go behind this 15-foot high walled community and the last known home to Rick Grimes). The tour highlights additional sacred sites and never-before-seen locations to the fans along the way. Note, the tours are cancelled while the show is in production. Check Facebook for updates.
• Georgia Tour Company is a two-hour walking tour through historic downtown Senoia to visit locations used during production of "The Walking Dead," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Pet Sematary II," "Drop Dead Diva" and more.
• With Walkin' Dead Tours, you can choose a tour with or without an attack by actual Walkers, or go for the full Walker-For-A-Day Experience, in which you are transformed into a cinema-quality Walker by the experts from Zombie Charm School.
• The Southern Hollywood Film Tour, a two-hour driving tour, takes visitors to locations used in "The Walking Dead," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Joyful Noise," "Sweet Home Alabama" and much more.
• Ride a Segway to see some of Savannah's most notable film locations, including "Forrest Gump," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and "Something to Talk About."
• Follow these Explore Georgia guides to key locations used in the following movies and TV shows:
  • FX Networks’ Atlanta
  • Black Panther
  • Captain America: Civil War
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp
  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay Parts I & II
  • Identity Thief
  • Real Housewives of Atlanta
• World-famous for its historic district and Spanish moss-draped trees, Savannah creates iconic scenes for films and television shows:
  • Forrest Gump
  • Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
  • The Last Song

Now Showing & Coming Soon

Explore Georgia lists what is currently being filmed and what is in post-production or already showing.

• "Stargirl" Official Trailer
• "Jumanji: The Next Level" Official Trailer
• "Richard Jewell" Official Trailer
• "Just Mercy" Main Trailer
• "The Outsider" Official Teaser
• The Last Full Measure Official Trailer
• Burden" Official Trailer
• Official Trailer: Disney’s "Jungle Cruise"

GA's "Heartbeat Bill" Creates Boycotts In Film Industry

This summer, many celebrities called for statewide boycotts after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law earlier this year, fulfilling a campaign commitment. The bill outlaws most abortions after about six weeks, which is when a fetal heartbeat is usually first detected.

Amazon's series "The Power" was the first TV production to leave Georgia after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Heartbeat Bill. Emmy-winning director Reed Morano is pulling the Amazon series from shooting in Georgia. Also, actress Kristin Wiig and her collaborator, Annie Mumolo, have canceled shoots in Georgia for their upcoming film "Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar."

Both cancellations, as reported by Fox News, are the first productions to cancel shoots in Georgia after the bill, which mostly outlaws abortions after six weeks, was signed in early May.

Big name companies like AMC joined Disney and Netflix in voicing their opinions on Georgia's abortion bill.

AMC films "The Walking Dead" in Georgia, but has expanded filming to Virginia and Washington D.C., Vanity Fair reported. Georgia is still considered the home location for the series, with many cast and crew members having homes in the state. The spinoff series, "Fear The Walking Dead," films outside of Georgia, including in Vancouver to Texas, while a second spinoff is also said to be filming in Virginia, Vanity Fair reported.

In June, just days after Netflix said it decided to stay in Georgia for the time being, although it will join the fight to overturn the law, Disney CEO Bob Iger told Reuters it would be "very difficult" for the media powerhouse to continue to film in Georgia if the so-called Heartbeat Bill is implemented in 2020.

However, a federal judge in Atlanta blocked in September the abortion law from going into effect in 2020 until a challenge to the law makes it way through the judicial system. Judge Steve C. Jones blocked the new law, known as the "Heartbeat Bill," from taking effect Jan. 1, 2020. Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are challenging the law in court, claiming it is unconstitutional.

Jones, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, wrote, "Under no circumstances whatsoever may a State prohibit or ban abortions at any point prior to viability, no matter what interests the State asserts to support it."

The bill is now in a holding pattern until court challenges to the new law make their way through the nation's judicial system.

Film Incentives

Georgia offers film, television and digital entertainment tax credits of up to 30 percent to create significant cost savings for companies producing feature films, television series, music videos and commercials, as well as interactive games and animation, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Georgia's Entertainment Industry Investment Act provides a 20 percent tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and post-production in Georgia, either in a single production or on multiple projects. The state grants an additional 10 percent tax credit if the finished project includes a promotional logo provided by the state. If a company has little or no Georgia tax liability, it can transfer or sell its tax credits.