Is Beechwood Island Real? Here’s Where They Filmed We Were Liars
Grab your passport.
Places like Cousins Beach from The Summer I Turned Pretty and Hawkins from Stranger Things may come to life on screen, but these locations don’t actually exist IRL. The same goes for Beechwood Island, the picturesque Sinclair vacation destination from We Were Liars.
The Prime Video series adaptation from E. Lockhart’s 2014 novel stars Emily Alyn Lind (2021’s Gossip Girl), Joseph Zada (Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), Esther McGregor (Babygirl), and Shubham Maheshwari as the Liars of Beechwood Island. Each summer, the group of cousins (Cadence, Johnny, and Mirren) along with Gat spend their vacay on the idyllic private island in Massachusetts near Martha’s Vineyard. Even though the blonde-haired Sinclairs look like they have it all, things aren’t as perfect as they seem — and the same goes for the show’s filming location.
Beechwood Island is a fictional place based on Lockhart’s actual connection to Martha’s Vineyard. The writer told MV Times in 2022 that instead of setting her psychological thriller in a well-known destination, she created Beechwood for more isolation. “You can make very bad things happen when the police are a long boat ride away,” she said.
We Were Liars Was Filmed Further North
Not only is Beechwood not real, but production chose to film outside of Massachusetts entirely for the eight-episode series. According to IMDb, Were Were Liars filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Meisner’s Island subbed in as Beechwood for a majority of the shoot, and according to 4Film, a mansion on Lower East Chezzetcook was used as Clairmont house.
Production also used the village of Chester and places in Dartmouth to represent the New England town setting. Nova Scotia is a really beautiful travel destination on the East Coast that has similar vibes to Massachusetts if you’re having a bit of wanderlust. Of course, if you want to go on a set-jetting trip inspired by We Were Liars, you’ll need to bring along your passport.
While you’re there, you can go swimming, build sandcastles on the beach, and even eat fudge like the Liars do in the show. The We Were Liars soundtrack on Spotify is a great playlist for your trip as well, with artists like Haim, Hozier, and Gracie Abrams. And hopefully, your summer getaway doesn’t run into a dramatic twist ending like the novel and show.
We Were Liars is streaming on Prime Video now, and is a great marathon-watch while you wait for Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty or if you’re a fan Julie Plec’s other teen drama, The Vampire Diaries.
