Being stuck inside doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the beautiful Laurel Highlands! Did you know that more than a dozen movies have filmed scenes in our own backyard? So grab some popcorn, hunker down and keep your eyes peeled for Laurel Highlands sights and businesses from the comfort of your own home in these movies and shows.
I am Not Okay with This
This coming-of-age series starring a teenage girl just trying to figure it out while also coming to terms with her new-found super powers. Brownsville is heavily featured in this series, from Fiddles diner to the Brownsville bridge, it feels like you are walking around the historic town.
Can be found on: Netflix with subscription
Foxcatcher
The Oscar-nominated film starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo centers around a wealthy man who forms his own Olympic wrestling team and is filmed almost exclusively in western Pennsylvania with an appearance of stables in the quaint town of Ligonier!
Can be found on: Crackle for free
Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Mindhunter
A crime series shot entirely in western PA, Mindhunter follows the FBI’s behavioral science unit and their interviews with notorious serial killers currently in prison. A fun Laurel Highlands Easter egg is the Greensburg SCI Prison!
Can be found on: Netflix with subscription
Jack Reacher
Set in Pittsburgh and Westmoreland County, Jack Reacher, played by Tom Cruise, is an ex-army investigator looking into the seemingly cut and dry case of the shootings of five people in an unassuming town. The more he looks into it, the less clear it all seems and the deeper he delves into the case. Play close attention to final fight scene where our very own Hoover Stone Quarry in Saltsburg is featured!
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Abduction
This movie set in Pittsburgh stars everyone’s favorite former werewolf Taylor Lautner and his costar Lily Collins, piece together his biological parents’ past, and fight real villains in the present. Throughout the movie you can spot familiar Brownsville backdrops and settings like Fiddles Diner.
Can be found on: Hulu with subscription
Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Love and Other Drugs
The story of a young woman coping with a new relationship, as well as early onset Parkinson’s, was shot almost entirely in western PA. Leads Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal navigate the pharmaceutical world in their own ways, and make a pit stop at the Brownsville Hospital!
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Those Who Kill
Anyone up for a good crime series? This show follows a Pittsburgh homicide detective and forensic scientist in their hunt for serial killers, a hunt that brings them to the since abandoned Brownsville Hospital.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
The Silence of the Lambs
Before Parasite, the only horror movie to ever lay claim to the Oscar for Best Picture was the Jodie Foster/Anthony Hopkins masterpiece, The Silence of the Lambs. Go back to the film that launched one of horror's hottest franchises. Buffalo Bill's house still stands today in Perryopolis and can be seen from the road, making it a destination for fans to this day.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Three Rivers
Although canceled after only one season, this medical drama that takes a unique look at transplants from the view of the doctor, donor and recipient, utilized the now closed Brownsville Hospital in the pilot.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video with payment
Riddle
This movie follows a teenage girl as she hunts for her missing brother in the fictional town of Riddle, Pennsylvania. Shot mostly in Pittsburgh and Brownsville, specifically the Brownsville Public Library that was transformed into the Riddle Sheriff’s office.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video with payment
Gone
The town of Vandergrift is featured in this single season police procedural focused on a woman from a famous abduction case who teams up with the FBI to solve other abduction cases.
Can be found on:
Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Outsiders
A two season series focused on a Kentucky family who has lived off the grid in Appalachia for 200 years and are now forced to defend themselves it against people who are threatening to take it all away. Watch closely for scenes filmed on Furnace Hill Road in Dunbar!
Can be found on: Hulu with subscription
Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Dogma
Flitting through a myriad of Laurel Highlands locations, including Ohiopyle, this Kevin Smith film follows two fallen angels who are banished to Wisconsin but are now on a mission to get back into heaven by way of New Jersey.
Due to outdated distribution deals this movie can only be viewed through a physical copy and cannot be streamed online.
One Dollar
A mystery TV show with one season, One Dollar is set in a post-recession rust belt town and filmed in multiple Pittsburgh and Laurel Highlands locations including Arcelor Mital coke plant in Monessen. It follows the investigation of a heinous multiple murder that is somehow all connected by the exchanging of a singular dollar bill.
Can be found on: CBS with subscription
Banshee
This crime drama centered around a paroled yet still criminally active thief has four seasons, the first three which are filmed in North Carolina. But a majority of the fourth and final season is filmed in Vandergrift, where building such as the Casino Theatre were transformed to become the fake Pennsylvania Amish town Banshee.
Can be found on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Cinemax with subscriptions
Youtube, Google Play and Itunes with payment
Body Farm
Shot by an independent film company utilizing Douglas Education Center special effects students, this movie about a videographer investigating a “bodyfarm” was shot across Westmoreland and Allegheny Counties, specifically the Youngwood Sportsman’s Club and Mastrioanni’s Signs in Trafford.
Can be found on: Youtube, Amazon Prime and Google Play with payment
Last Flag Flying
Last Flag Flying, the second movie to feature Steve Carrell was partially filmed in Greensburg, see if you can see the Knight's Inn on South Main Street! The film also showcases the stellar actors Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburn who play Vietnam Navy buddies who set out on a trek to bury Steve Carell’s character’s son who was killed while fighting in the Iraq War.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video with subscription
Youtube, Google Play and Vudu with payment
The Road
A post-apocalyptic movie with scenes in Fayette County, specifically the turnpike, is about a man and his son who are desperately trying to make it to the ocean while fighting off violent gangs that are roaming the devastated country.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video with subscription
I am Number Four
A tale about an alien on earth that is constantly on the run from enemies that hunt him. This brings him and his guardian to a small Ohio town, which is actually many western Pennsylvania locations including the Vandergrift.
Can be found on: Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Google Play, Vudu and Itunes with payment
Douglas Education Center
A special nod to the Douglas Education Center in Monessen whose students and teachers play a huge role in the entertainment industry, not just in western PA but across the country! From filming the RAW Firefly Funhouse episodes at the actual education center, to student Erik Haskell being one of the creators of the opulent masks on the hit show Masked Singer. Without these stellar artists our entertainment industry would be lost!
Hopefully seeing some of your favorite Laurel Highlands buildings, backgrounds and businesses will remind you of the amazing community you live in.
