Secret Circle - Pilot - Review and Filming Locations

The new CW show The Secret Circle premiered last night and I thought it was really great.

Written by the same author of The Vampire Diaries, L.J. Smith has another great series turned television show.

The show follows Cassie, played by Brittany Robertson, who is no stranger to Vancouver after filming Life Unexpected here, after her mother dies and she must move in with her grandma. The town is filled with witch teens, who's parents used to practice magic until there was a terrible accident, so now the teens practice in secret.

Gale Harold, Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk and more recently Hellcats (another Vancouver filmed, and canceled show) is one adult who seems "in" on the current practice of magic and within the first few minutes, make that seconds, of the pilot, shows himself to be a "bad guy" by using magic to kill Cassie's mother, forcing Cassie to move to her grandmothers and, after learning about her magic skills, joining, or completeing "the circle"

The pilot was awesome, I loved Phoebe Tonkin as the bad girl and of course Thomas Dekker as the "heart throb"

I am excites to see where this show goes and glad they kept it in Vancouver (unlike The Vampire Diaries, who moved to ATL after filming the pilot in Vancouver)

Like all Vancouver shows, I recognize sets and although I did not go to any, I wanted to share where they were.

Here are sets from the Pilot, if you know more feel free to add them in the comments:

Moncton St Steveston, BC

Town Shots, like this one when Gale Harold's character meets Brittany Robertson's character (did you know off-screen these two have been spotted hanging out a few times?) are filmed in Steveston (Richmond BC) The address on the building tells us it is 3580 Moncton

Boathouse Restaurant

There are multiple locations for the Boathouse, but since much of the filming was in Steveston, BC, I would assume the one we see in the pilot is the one in Richmond. (8331 River Road)

The abandoned house (Where they tell Cassie she is a witch) LOOKED like one in Langley I know Supernatural has used, but given the amount of filming in Richmond, I imagine they found an old house there to use, though I would need to see more of it to be sure. Though this still of them inside was probably studio, as many interiors are, but you never know.

Cleavland Dam

When Cassie runs away from the old house, after being told she is a witch, Adam catches up with her and together they chant "drop of water, light as air"

Sockeye City Grill was spotted in the ending scene when Faye summons the rain and a massive storm erupts. (3780 Bayview Street, Steveston)

The highschool scenes were filmed at Kitsalano High School.

I had been told they were at Point Grey Secondary for the pilot (but that is incorrect) and then switched to Templeton after the pilot (Where a number of shows and movies film, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3 a few weeks ago) So I am not sure if/where they moved after the pilot, I will watch future shows and see.

But the pilot was DEFINATELY Kitsalano High School as you can see in this photo of "Chance Harbor"

The fishing town and docks were also done in Steveston.

There were some scenes filmed along the water near Finn Slough.

That's it so far. I know I am loving this show, so perhaps I will try to post more locations and maybe even visit one at some point.

The Secret Circle at SDCC

I am quite excited about this show because it films in Vancouver and has kept Gale Harold (Hellcats) and Brit RObertson (Life Unexpected) in my city for filming. I am a huge fan of both, but especially Gale Harold from Queer as Folk days - Hello Brian Kinney!

Anyways, here is some info on the show:

Cinema Blend writes:

The Secret Circle
Premieres Fall 2011 on The CW

Based on L. J. Smith’s novels, this new CW drama follows a teen girl named Cassie (Britt Robertson) who goes to live with her grandmother after her mother dies in a mysterious fire. She’s quickly drawn in by a group of witches who believe she’s meant to be a part of their circle. And so begins your typical teen drama with a magical twist. Dangers lurk not far in the distance as these kids begin to dabble in powers that might have them in over their heads very soon.

My guess is that The Vampire Diaries fans are going to be on board with this one. The pilot was a little campy at parts, but it does offer a similar kind of glamorous danger to some of the other supernatural-themed TV dramas out there. Fans of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles may recognize Thomas Dekker, playing one of the teens that befriends Cassie.

I don't knwo about you but this sounds pretty awesome - we will see..


Kevin Williamson had plenty to say about the new show:

“This is not as a violent show,” says Williamson. “VAMPIRE DIARIES as emotionally epic it is with its love story, there’s something very masculine about it with the vampires, and werewolves. THE SECRET CIRCLE, this is witchcraft – it’s not so in your face violent. As you saw from the pilot. He drowned the man, just by describing it. It’s just a different type of horror and menace. And that’s the challenge of it – you can’t take a knife and stab somebody.”

That said, Williamson is trying his best to make THE SECRET CIRCLE very edgy and scary too.More...

“I’m the horror movie guy,” says Williamson. “I like scsary.I like the occult. I like ROSEMARY’S BABY. I like the devil worship. I like the voodoo. I like the stuff that goes bats**t crazy. The challenge is how to imbue that with witchcraft to make it scary. Who’s evil and who is not? How evil can you go?”

In terms of developing the series, many changes had to be made according to Williamson, but it helps when you have great source material like the worlds Smith creates.

“These mythology shows are so hard to sort of develop and create, but it’s also what makes it challenging and exicting,” says Williamson. “I really like mythologies. I love building a world from scratch. I have help. Which is so nice because the source material gives us a lot.”

The series will also explore three generations of witches, which will likely open up the CW demographic a bit.

“There’s this young circle, this brand new circle, and you have sort of the next level which are the parents and then you have the grandmother who is in the elder circle,” says Williamson. “I was fascinated by the idea of which powers the have, what they can do with them and how they can do it. And some of the elders, in some sense, don’t believe there is a place for witches anymore. Others feel differently.”As for whether THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and THE SECRET CIRCLE exists in the same universe (think about the crossovers), Williamson says he’s adhering to the book worlds of both – one in which they don’t exist in each others universes.

“We’re playing these two more as companion pieces,” says Williamson. “They’re two separate worlds. Chance Harbor doesn’t exist in the same world as Mystic Falls.”

So does this mean no cross-over shows? BoO!


Expect to see the show air Thursdays at 9pm, following The Vampire Diaries (who filmed their pilot in Vancouver, then moved to ATL for production) I hope The Secret Circle stays in Vancouver.