The waters of Cape Cod...

Dawson's Creek was a show about a group of high school friends with an uncommonly complex vocabulary growing up in an idillyc waterfront village closely resembling Cape Cod. Their picture perfect world served as a backdrop for the same issues and trials that all teens face, no matter where they live, while growing into adulthood.
Using Wilmington, NC as the setting for the fictional town of Capeside, Mass was both a blessing and a challenge. We were able to take advantage of many of the incredible waterfront locations in the area for some of our sets. 'Water in the background of every shot' was the creed whenever we were searching for a new location. The challenge was in disguising the southern antebellum architecture and spanish moss draped oak trees in recreating the look of old Cape Cod. Never mind the palm trees that always seemed to be in just the wrong place.
For the final two seasons the characters went to college and we moved the setting to Boston, Mass. Portraying the small southern town of Wilmington as a large urban city proved to be an even bigger challenge. We filled four soundstages with new permanent sets. We also became very creative in limiting the framing of downtown streets to help sell the urban environs of Boston.