The Vermont setting of FX's The Old Man has served as an epic location for both seasons of the thrilling drama series.
Jeff Bridges leads the cast of The Old Man as Dan Chase, a former CIA operative and veteran of the Afghanistan war, with a difficult past that leads him to live off the grid. That is until his past catches up and forces him on the run.
Season 2 of The Old Man has been a globe-trotting affair, with the series returning to familiar locations across Vermont, as well as a pivotal place in Dan's backstory.
The Old Man Filming Locations Explained
While much of the series takes place in Vermont, the filming locations for The Old Man can be found in California.
As was the case with the first season, Santa Clarita doubles as many of the series' New England locations in Season 2.
The Californian city has served as the filming spot for many popular productions, presumably for its arid mountain landscapes, as well as its proximity to Hollywood proper. Sons of Anarchy, Westworld, and Justified have all used Santa Clarita as a filming location.
To provide the establishing shots of the vast regions of Vermont and the town center, The Old Man was filmed in the Idyllwild area, making use of local shopfronts and the San Jacinto Mountains in California.
Some areas in and around Los Angeles, California, also became home to The Old Man Season 2.
Where Did The Old Man Season 2 Film Its Afghanistan Scenes?
Season 2 of The Old Man has introduced a new location important to Dan Chase's past - that being Afghanistan, where he once served in the Soviet-Afghan war.
The first few episodes of the new season have seen Chase and his companion, Harold Harper, return to Afghanistan in an attempt to save their protégé, Angela from an Afghan warlord.
Given the new global location, questions have been raised over whether The Old Man moved production to Afghanistan to authentically film its scenes.
However, thanks to some Hollywood magic, production for the series was able to remain in Santa Clarita for the international scenes.
Executive Producer Warren Littlefield revealed how this all came together during a Q&A at a Television Critics Association panel in September.
Littlefield confirmed the Afghan village was "built on a hillside from scratch" in Santa Clarita and added that some visual effects "add[ed] to the mountains" but they were proud to have "created a world" that wasn't previously there:
“One of the questions that came up earlier was, ‘So, where do you shoot this?’ Our Afghan village is in Santa Clarita. We built that on a hillside from scratch. And it is an entire Afghan village that is a character and part of the show. I was just going back through our cuts over the [Fourth of July] holiday, and of course, visual effects adds to the mountains, but that world when we’re in it feels incredible.
So, when I look at those cuts, I feel like our blood, sweat, and tears went into building that world. And I’m gushing over how that looks onscreen. And so, that’s really satisfying, to have started with a hillside, and that’s all it was, and created a world."
The Old Man Season 2 is still airing its current season, but with so much effort poured into the building of the Afghanistan set, audiences can expect to see it a lot more before the season is out.
The Old Man Season 2 releases new episodes weekly on FX.
