TV Talk Tuesday-One Tree Hill Set Tour

My mom and I hung out with these people this weekend.

OK well I didn't actually see any of those people but I did go on the One Tree Hill set tour in Wilmington, NC where One Tree Hill (and previously Dawson's Creek) is filmed (at Screen Gems Studios).  I even conned my mom into going with me so I didn't have to go alone. 

They threatened to escort us off the property if we took pictures so I don't have any pictures of the sets but it was pretty interesting.  I saw Nathan and Haley's house, Brooke's Beach house and Red Bedroom Records. 

Fun Facts...

1-The brick isn't real.  Although Red Bedroom Records looks like it has brick walls, when you touch the walls you realize they are hollow.  It's wood or plastic that has been painted.  Same for the granite counter top in Haley's kitchen.  It's actually just painted wood.  I think the set designers do a really good job of making it look real on tv.

2-Lots of other stuff is fake.  The sinks don't have running water.  If they need water or electricity for any of the kitchen items, they have to run in a hose or bring in an extension cord. 

3-There's no real food in the fridge.  They showed us Brooke's fridge which has no power.  Most of the stuff is just empty boxes or Tupperware that has been painted to make it look like there is food in it.  Sometimes they move things around to make it look like people have actually been eating food from the fridge. 

4-The pool from Nathan and Haley's house is inside.  It's a real pool but they actually have it on a set beside the house.  They definitely had me convinced that the pool was outside on the show.

5-The stairs lead to nowhere.  All the sets are on one story so if you see someone go up stairs, they are not really going anywhere.  It just ends.  They put tops of trees outside of windows to make it look like they are on a higher level.

6-They have a side parking lot with cars used in the show.  A few years back when I drove by I saw Peyton's old car.  I guess they don't need that anymore.  But I'm pretty sure these are the cars from the hit and run last year.  Yeah, look familiar?

Ok, so those might only be fun facts if you've actually seen the show.  Overall things were a lot less fancy and high tech than I would expect them to be on a TV set.  They do a good job of making fake things look real on the show.  So now I have fulfilled my lifelong dream of touring a tv set so I can move on.  (But if anyone wants to get me on the set of PRec or The Office, I will still accept the invite.)



parking lot outside the studio

Have you ever been on the One Tree Hill set tour or on any other TV show set?
Are you going to watch the final season of One Tree Hill this year?