TV Show Sets That Were Recycled for Other Series
Unlike a movie set, which will probably only stand for a few months, a TV set might have to hold out for anywhere from a few weeks for an unproduced pilot to several decades. When it ends up being closer to the former, or even once a behemoth has ended, it’s a shame to let it go to waste. That’s why even some of the most iconic TV sets can get repurposed like a Goodwill lamp.
The Munsters Mansion
It might have looked spooky in black and white, but the Munsters mansion was actually a charming Victorian built on the Universal Studios lot that appeared in several movies before that famous family moved in. It went on to appear mostly unnoticed in TV shows like Dragnet and Quantum Leap before it was sold to a Desperate Housewife and became 4351 Wisteria Lane, a home that seemed to lead to misfortune for all four of the households that moved into it. Maybe it’s haunted.
The ‘Cosby Show’ Basement
“Bill Cosby’s basement” has become a pretty cursed phrase, but its fictional, mysteriously spacious ‘80s incarnation was apparently too good to waste. After the show ended in 1992, it showed up throughout the sitcomscape of the ‘90s and 2000s, including on Home Improvement, 3rd Rock From the Sun and Grounded For Life.
Bayside High School
That’s So Raven didn’t try to hide the fact that the set used for its high school was the same one that appeared in Saved By the Bell for four years. It even shared the name Bayside High School, though the series are set in different cities, suggesting that it’s just a really common name and layout. It basically became Generic Nickelodeon High School, being used again for iCarly and Victorious, because let’s face it, nobody is the right age to have watched all those shows.
Capeside, Massachusetts
Stealing another sitcom family’s home is one thing, but One Tree Hill stole a whole town. Dawson’s Creek was unique among ‘90s primetime dramas in that it wasn’t filmed at a studio in L.A. but all around Wilmington, North Carolina, which stood in surprisingly convincingly for a fictional Cape Cod tourist trap. After the show ended in 2003, Wilmington became Tree Hill, North Carolina, repurposed by the WB (or was it the CW by then?).
Stars Hollow
Not to be outdone, Pretty Little Liars didn’t just steal a whole town — it stole a whole fake town built specifically for a different show. In 2010, the show took over the Stars Hollow set on the Warner Bros. lot that had been home to the Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007. The girls’ house became Spencer’s, the Kims’ house became Emily’s, Stars Hollow High became Rosewood City Hall, even the church and gazebo were brazenly depicted. No less an icon than Luke’s Diner, so sacred to Gilmore Girls fans, was poorly disguised as the “Apple Rose Grille.” To be fair, the Dragonfly Inn owned by Lorelei Gilmore was previously the Waltons house, which was previously seen on Andy Griffith Show spin-off Mayberry R.F.D.
It’s a beautiful circle of real estate robbery.