Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias is returning for Season 5 in just a few weeks. Though it seems like the new season will spend a fair bit of time in New York City, where Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) has just moved, we first met our three main characters, Maddie, Helen (Heather Headley), and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), in the small town of Serenity, where they grew up. And the town is, without doubt, one of the things people are always more interested in. It just looks like the kind of place we would want to visit!
But is the town of Serenity a real town? Where is it located? Can you visit the real-life locations from the show? The answer is actually pretty straightforward.
Where is Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias Set?
If you’ve watched the show, you’d know it’s set in the town of Serenity. Serenity is supposed to be located somewhere in South Carolina. Sadly, Serenity is a fictional town, so you can’t visit it. Or at least, you can’t visit and expect the town to look the way it does in the show. But that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck
The town is, in many ways, as much of a character in the show as Maddie, Helen, and Dana Sue are. In fact, the fact that these women love the town so much and, despite Helen going away at some point (and Maddie heading to the Big Apple now!), have always returned and made it a point to stay is a big point of the show so far. Sometimes, people just want to help make the place they grew up in a better place! It’s what makes us believe that New York will just be a detour. We always return to Serenity, and so do they.
And, it’s also a big part of what Maddie, Helen, and Dana Sue have been trying to teach the next generation. Ty, Annie, Kyle, CeCe… they might go on to adventures outside of Serenity, but Serenity will always be there to welcome them home. It’s just a matter of deciding not to stay away.
But in reality, the town that welcomes them all home, or the filming location of it, isn’t even in South Carolina. Instead, the show films mostly in Covington, Georgia, a city that is less than an hour east of Atlanta. If it looks familiar to you, it’s likely because The Vampire Diaries was also filmed there. (Yes, this is indeed Mystic Falls!), as have other big Hollywood productions, like Remember the Titans and Venom.
According to Sherryl Woods, who wrote the Sweet Magnolias book series, Serenity was inspired by a real town, though. It’s called Sumter, South Carolina, and is a town she used to visit every summer. Meaning you have two good options if you’re looking to visit Serenity! The town where it’s actually filmed, or the one it’s based on.
So there you have it, there might not be a real Serenity, but if you want to feel like you are there, there are a few places you can go.
