Based On A True Story- Filming Locations

This is the home of the the main couple, Ava & Nathan Bartlett
(Kaley Coco & Chris Messina), and as such it is seen
in virtually every episode of the show :

In real life, this house is at
2325 Manning Ave, in West Los Angeles.

This is in Cheviot Hills, an upscale part of town just west of Century City, near
Rancho Park, where the hit TV series “Modern Family” filmed a lot of their scenes.

Here is a Google StreetView of the house :

[ Warning: This is a private home.
Do not knock on their door, trespass on their property,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

Ana (a real estate agent) spends time at a house she is trying to sell.

She is promoting an Open House, and while she is showing the house to
a handsome young man named Ryan, she is shocked by an
odd fantasy/vision of herself having sex with him in bed.

In real life, this house is located at
5428 Oak Park Ave, in Encino, California.

That's over the hill, in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.

Here is a Google StreetView of the house:

[ Warning: This is a private home.
Do not knock on their door, trespass on their property,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

Ana's husband, Nathan, a former pro tennis player whose career was ended
by a torn ACL, works as a tennis coach at The Beverly Club.

In real life, this is “The Griffin Club” (formerly known as "The Beverly Hills Country Club"),
a private club located at 3084 Motor Ave, in West Los Angeles, just south of Rancho Park.

That is just one mile south of Ava & Nathan's house, so If he were
in the mood for a little exercise, Nathan could literally walk to work.

Here is a matching Google StreetView of the street;

In the aerial shot of Nathan driving up the Malibu highway towards the beach,

the camerais looking east up PCH, from approximately
36598 Pacific Coast highway, in Malibu .

( The approximate GPS coordinates: 34°02'45.4"N 118°56'31.5"W )

Here is a matching StreetView:

The path that Nathan walks down to the beach below...

is known as “the Leo Carrillo staircase”,
and it's located at the north Leo Carrillo Beach parking lot.

Here's a matching photo of it.

The Malibu surfing beach, where Nathan meets and blackmails serial killer Matt...

is Leo Carrillo State Beach, located at approximately
39998 Pacific Coast Highway. in Malibu.

But note that this is the rocky northwest portion of Leo Carrillo beach, which is more
rugged and difficult-to-access than the more public southeast portion.

( The approximate GPS coordinates are 34°02'50.4"N 118°57'00.2"W . )

( It’s about 9 miles northwest of Point Dume. )

After the tense encounter with Matt on the beach, Nathan is furious with himself,
as he drives away. He pulls his car over to the side of the road and vomits.

Ana ( who had been watching the encounter through binoculars) catches up with him.
He tells her that Matt never agreed to their proposition, and they both realize that they
are in a precarious situation, not knowing when the serial killer might come after them.

They argue about whether to continue, with Nathan wanting to go to the cops,
but Ana insisting that they stick to the plan, as this is their one shot at the big time.

That huge, pointed rock on the beach side of the road (where they stop and talk ).
is called "Mugu Rock", and is located at 799 Pacific Coast Highway, in Point Mugu, CA.

That's about six miles northwest up the coast from the Malibu beach.

( Since they live in West L.A., it doesn't make any
real sense that they would be heading northwest. )

Mugu Rock is not a natural formation, only the remnant of one.
It was created when they built Pacific Coast Highway back in the late 1930s,
and did so by cutting a 60-foot-wide path through the rocky mountain that
had blocked their way, leaving the towering 200-foot-tall “Mugu Rock”
standing on the beach side of the road.

( The approximate GPS coordinates are: 34°05'10.5"N 119°03'38.4"W .)

Here is a Google StreetView of the Rock:

Nathan foolhardily meets with the killer (Matt) at an old-fashioned
diner / coffee shop to make him an offer (and essentially blackmail him).

This diner scene was shot at Pann's Restaurant, near Culver City.
The address is 6710 La Tijera Blvd, in the Westchester area of Los Angeles.

( Nathan later refers to this as a "diner on Pico", but Pico Boulevard
is actually about five miles north of this coffee shop. )

[ This Pann's diner has appeared in a number of productions, including
the movie version of “Bewitched” and the Nicholas Cage movie “Next”,
not to mention the pilot episode of the TV show “The Goldbergs” . ]

Here is a Google StreetView of the restaurant:

Nathan & Ana attend a party at the home of their wealthy friend Ruby.
Nathan is freaking out because the police have photos of him
at the diner with the serial killer.

Later, at night, Nathan tells the other party guests that he has
been fired. They offer to quit the club, but he tells them it's OK.

On this page, this is referred to as “The Woodvale Estate”.
It is located at 1590 Woodville Road, in Encino, CA.

That's in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley, and it's only about two miles southeast of the
home Ana was selling. But it's up in the hills of Encino, where prices tend to be higher.

The StreetView here is limited ...

... but you can see more of the house in photos here.

[ Warning: This is a private home.
Do not knock on their door, trespass on their property,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

Nathan surprises Ana by buying her a “dream house” on Malibu Beach.

But he doesn't get the happy reaction he expected.

Instead, Ana questions the purchase, they get into an argument, and
she winds up telling him he “gave up on life”, before storming out.

But on our way out the front door, she runs right into a dead body, lying at their threshold.

( And that shocking scene ends Season One of the show. )

This beach house is at 42602 Pacific Coast Hwy, in Malibu, CA.

That 's only a mile north of the surfing beach
where Nathan meets and blackmails Matt.

And it's about six miles southeast of Mugu Rock.

Read more about the house here.

[ Warning: This is a private home.
Do not knock on their door, trespass on their property,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]