save Dexter: New Blood Filming Locations: New England Studios
Dexter: New Blood – Filming Locations
the world's most comprehensive guide to locations where Dexter was shot



New England Studios

Although the exterior scenes for Dexter: New Blood were filmed on location at  dozens of different sites around Massachusetts, many of the Interior scenes were filmed on sets inside a studio soundstage.

Often, a scene begins with an exterior shot of the actual real-world location, And at then switches to a studio set once they go inside.

Back when "Dexter" was filmed in Southern California, those interior sets were built at Sunset-Gower Studios in Hollywood. Those indoor sets included sets of Dexter's apartment and of the Miami Metro police station (both of which originally used exterior shots of buildings in Florida).

Virtually any interior scene can be shot on a soundstage, and made to look like it was filmed in another location. One example of that , from Episode 8, is the scene of Dexter & Debra  inside a pickup truck speeding to Kurt's cabin to rescue Harrison. That interior shot was filmed at this studio, not on the road.

Other locations that were most likely just studio sets include Dexter's kill rooms, the interior of Kurt's Cabin, and his subterranean lair.

So what studio did they used use while they were filming this new season in Massachusetts?

It was New England Studios, located at 100 Studio Way, in Devens, Massachusetts, just east of the Nashua River.


Photo courtesy of Ron B.:




And similar to the previous seasons, they built indoor sets of Dexter's home (cabin) and the Iron Lake Police Department.

It's a relatively young studio, that just opened In 2013 (ironically, the same year the original Dexter ended).

The studio boasts four soundstages, each at 18,000 square feet 72,000 square feet of space. Although that Is modest compared to the huge studios in Hollywood, such as Warner Bros. (which has 37 soundstages) or Universal (which has 30), it is more than enough space fora state that has just begun attracting major productions, thanks to Massachusetts' Film Tax Credits that essentially refund 25% of the production costs. That's a major incentive for Hollywood production companies hoping to save dollars.

The studio managed to lure the 2018, Stephen King thriller,"Castle Rock", the Will Ferrell / Mel Gibson comedy "Daddy's Home 2", the Kevin Hart / Dwayne Johnson action-comedy "Central intelligence", the Apple TV series "Defending Jacob" (with Chris Evans), and now "Dexter: New Blood".

In an odd Dexter connection, the "hole" set for Michael C Hall's previous movie, "John and the Hole" was built on the very same soundstage (at this New England studio) where they later built the interior set for Dexter's cabin.

And in another Dexter connection, they filmed the 2019 remake of "Little Women" at New England Studios, and that same movie (starring Emma Watson and Meryl Streep) also filmed several scenes at the  estate that appeared in Dexter as Edward Owen's mansion.

And finally, one of the stars of "Daddy's Home 2" was none other than John Lithgow, who played the Trinity Killer on Dexter.  It's a small world.

Although many of the interior scenes for Dexter were filmed in the soundstages, there were exceptions, of course. Some interior scenes were filmed inside the actual locations that were used for the exterior shots.  In fact, Dexter did that more often than most shows.

For instance, they shot the interiors for Fred's Fish & Game inside the same actual store space In Shelburne Falls that they used for the exterior views,

Most of the Iron Lake High School scenes were filmed at that real campus.

And Although most of the interiors for Dexter's cabin were filmed at the studio, the very first scenes with Harrison inside the cabin were  filmed in that actual cabin out in Gardner, because the studio set wasn't ready yet.

It got even more complicated with the Iron Lake Tavern, where the exterior was shot in Shelburne Falls, but the interior scenes were filmed inside another real location, the Bull Run restaurant.

And several of the Massachusetts homes that we see from the outside were also used for interior shots, including Angela's home, the kill-list party house, and Edward Owen's mansion.

The more often they plan to use a particular interior, the more likely they are to simply, build a replica set inside the studio, so they don't have to travel back to the original location all the time. Hence, you would find the soundstage sets for the interiors of Dexter's cabin and  the Iron Lake Police station at the studio, both of which are seen multiple times, In virtually every episode

New England Studios is about 30 miles northwest of Boston, and about 60 miles east of Shelburne Falls.

You will find the studio's official website at www.nestudios.com .

      Here is a Google map of the Studio:



Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?
    A. The studio was mentioned early on in the press.  Back in January, when the production was first starting up, .Boston.com ran an article mentioning that the new Dexter series would be filmed at New England Studios. And there were multiple mentions once filming was underway.


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