In ‘The Big Door Prize’ Season 2, Atlanta, Georgia Stands In For Deerfield

The Big Door Prize continues to expand on the thought-provoking premise of the M. O. Walsh book in Season 2, putting the residents of the fictional town of Deerfield, Louisiana through the wringer by expanding the nature and potential of the Morpho Machine. But Deerfield is really Atlanta, Georgia’s Beltline, where the first two seasons of The Big Door Prize were filmed.

The Big Door Prize Season 2 Was Filmed In Atlanta

The series follows the ups and downs of the residents of the fictional town of Deerfield, but Season 2 of The Big Door Prize was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you are a resident, you will no doubt be able to spot some of the more obvious landmarks, and the cast and crew were also happy that filming for the season would take place around the famous Atlanta BeltLine.

In an interview with Fox5 Atlanta, Gabrielle Dennis, who plays Cass in the show, would say:

“I think one of our favorite things collectively has been the BeltLine, especially where I was staying. I was able to walk there and rent the scooters and the bikes, and do the whole experience.”

Co-star Ally Maki agreed, saying, “The BeltLine was honestly my favorite thing; I wish that was in every city that I was in! Just to be able to walk everywhere, get food, meet up with people … it was such a blast.”

The Atlanta BeltLine comprises twenty-two miles of multi-use trails, connected by light rail transit that works from a previous railway corridor around the heart of Atlanta.

Josh Sagarra, who plays Giorgio, also gave some clues about the area when he said,  “I dream about The Flying Biscuit. I dream about Jeni’s. And I dream about Fox Bros. [Bar-B-Q] I go there all the time.”

Actor Chris O’Dowd would also reveal where the crew were holed up for the shoot: “We were staying off Peachtree Avenue right by Peachtree Place … and Peachtree Drive … just at the end of Peachtree Lane.”

That’s a lot of peaches.

Production Timeline

The potential of the original story and its viability as a streaming series were realized very quickly in the case of The Big Door Prize, so here’s a brief timeline of how we made it to Season 2.

• The novel the series was based on was written by M.O. Walsh and first saw publication on July 7th, 2020.
• In a super quick turnaround, Season 1 of The Big Door Prize dropped on March 29th, 2023.
• In April 2023, it was revealed that a second season of episodes was ordered.
• Filming had already started on the second season in January 2023 and would run through until May 2023.
• The Big Door Prize Season 2 debuted on Apple TV+ on April 24th, 2024.

What Else Has M.O. Walsh Written?

The writer’s first work is a novel called My Sunshine Away, which would make it to the New York Times best-seller list. He would also release a collection of stories called The Prospect of Magic, before releasing The Big Prize Door.

My Sunshine Away received rave reviews at the time of its release and really put M.O. Walsh on the map. Like The Big Door Prize, it’s set in Louisana but uses a flashback framing device and several real events to inform its coming-of-age narrative.