Anthracite is a tale of secret cult-like organizations, mass suicides, and murderous ceremonies in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Filmed on location in this Alpine setting, the chilling but beautifully picturesque series is absolutely demented. But it does look great, which has to count for something.
I’ve rounded up some information on the stunning setting used in the show, and also some juicy tidbits about the production being held up by a sudden and unexplained bout of illness.
Filming Locations Explained
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
This region of France has a fantastic cinematic look, complete with mountains and small villages that make for the perfect backdrop for the series.
Meaww reveals that filming took place in Isère, Grenoble, Saint-Martin-d’Hères, Chamrousse, La Mure, Vinay, Pont-en-Royans, Saint-Honoré, and Mens.
However, despite these locations being used for filming, Anthracite takes place in a fictional town created for the series. Levionna, where much of the action takes place, was actually Grenoble, but the showrunner, Fanny Robert, who was inspired by a real-life cult that operated in and around Grenoble where she grew up, wanted to make a distinction between the real-life location and the one created for the show.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France, used as the setting for Anthracite | Image via Expedia
Horrifically, the area was the scene of mass suicides of the followers of the Order of the Solar Temple, and the bodies of the members were found in the forest of The Vercors Massif in 1995. Fanny was influenced by this story, and the location when she created Anthracite.
The first scene of the first episode shows the police securing the building where the cult members were found after drinking poison. There are some stunning snow-covered locations utilized in the filming of the series, which includes drone shots of the mountains and the rural pastel-colored buildings seen in the shots of the small town.
Who produced Anthracite?
Anthracite was produced by Anthracite Productions, a company set up by series creator Fanny Robert. The series was made in association with White Lion Films and Auvergne-Rhone-Alps-Cinema.
Anthracite was created by Fanny Robert, Maxime Berthemy, and Mehdi Ouahab.
Production Timeline
I’ve put together a handy timeline of the show’s conception to its release, including an odd delay:
- Anthracite was straight to Netflix in 2021.
- The streaming giant must have liked the sound of it, as by February 2023, everything was in place for filming to start.
- The series would shoot from February to May 2023, but oddly there was a delay in filming some sequences of the series in the Thaïs cave area, when members of the crew who were setting equipment up for a shoot all complained of headaches. Filming stopped as tests were carried out in the area, with a carbon monoxide leak being mentioned, that may have caused the team to feel ill and suffer from headaches. However, the tests proved negative, and the shoot continued.
- A trailer for Anthracite drop on March 27th, 2024.
- The full series debuted on Netflix on April 10th, 2024.
More on Anthracite:
Review | Ending Explained | Season Recap | Is Anthracite Based On A True Story? | Season 2 Chances
