Scream Queens Production Sites Revealed - What Happened Behind The Scenes
- 01. Scream Queens production sites revealed - what happened behind the scenes
- 02. Where Season 1 was filmed
- 03. Season 2 move to Los Angeles
- 04. Key production sites at a glance
- 05. How the production sites shaped the show's look
- 06. Timeline and major shooting windows
- 07. Behind-the-scenes logistics and crew insights
- 08. Creative and practical reasons for the two-city approach
- 09. Frequently asked questions about filming locations
Scream Queens production sites revealed - what happened behind the scenes
The primary production sites for the Ryan Murphy-led series Scream Queens (2015-2016) are split between two U.S. hubs: Season 1 was shot mostly in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, with the fictional Wallace University built on locations at Tulane University's uptown campus, while Season 2 shifted to Los Angeles, California, using both on-location exteriors and interior stages at 20th Century Fox Studios in Century City.
Where Season 1 was filmed
For the first season of Scream Queens, the fictional Wallace University and the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house were anchored in the greater New Orleans area, with exterior campus shots and select interior scenes captured across the Tulane University campus in uptown New Orleans. Production crews filmed in highly trafficked student spaces such as the Lavin-Bernick Center dining hall, Newcomb Quad, Gibson Quad, and outside Gibson Hall, giving the campus a recognizable but slightly stylized look that mixed real collegiate architecture with horror-comedy set dressing.
The iconic Kappa Kappa Tau house-the show's blood-stained sorority mansion-was realized through a period residence at 560 Northline Street in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. Local sources estimate that roughly 60-70 percent of Season 1's exterior daytime scenes were shot on or near the Tulane campus, while night and interior sequences were built or enhanced on soundstages and private homes in the area.
Season 2 move to Los Angeles
When Scream Queens moved from college campus to hospital setting for Season 2, the production footprint shifted to Los Angeles, California, with principal photography and studio work centered at 20th Century Fox Studios on Pico Boulevard in Century City. Cast and crew began prepping new sets in that facility in mid-2016, with the official filming window for Season 2 running from approximately July 20 to December 6, 2016.
Outside of the studio, the Season 2 hospital exteriors and nearby "Carthage" town scenes used a combination of Los Angeles-area locations that could double as a small, isolated medical campus. Art directors and production designers replicated the hyper-stylized pastel aesthetic of Season 1 inside the Fox soundstages, but now layered in clinical, fluorescent, and surgical imagery to match the new hospital-centric murder-mystery storyline.
Key production sites at a glance
| Season | Primary city / region | Main real-world site | Notable feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 (2015) | New Orleans, Louisiana | Tulane University uptown campus | Used as fictional Wallace University exterior |
| Season 1 (2015) | Metairie, Louisiana | 560 Northline Street, Kappa Kappa Tau house | Real period residence converted into sorority mansion |
| Season 2 (2016) | Los Angeles, California | 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd. | Interior hospital and other sets built on soundstages |
| Season 2 (2016) | Greater Los Angeles area | Various exterior hospital / town locations | Double as the fictional Carthage medical campus |
How the production sites shaped the show's look
The choice of actual New Orleans locations in Season 1 gave the show a humid, slightly Southern Gothic texture that amplified the camp-horror tone. By filming on a real, active university campus, the production team could borrow existing quads, walkways, and campus buildings, then lean into the "permanent Halloween" color palette-vivid Kappa sorority décor, neon signs, and exaggerated lighting-to create a heightened but grounded environment.
In contrast, the Los Angeles studio-based production of Season 2 allowed much tighter control over set design, lighting, and choreography for the hospital-centric death scenes. Having the bulk of Season 2 housed at 20th Century Fox enabled Murphy and his crew to build a multi-floor "murder hospital" set that could be reconfigured across episodes, with one production insider recalling that the cast shot up to 12 pages per day on the same soundstage, a schedule that would have been far harder to maintain with constant on-location travel.
Timeline and major shooting windows
- Season 1 began pre-production scouting at Tulane University in February 2015, with the campus serving as Wallace University's primary backdrop.
- Principal filming for Season 1 ran from roughly March 12 to April 25, 2015, extended later into mid-2015 for additional photography and reshoots.
- Exterior work on the Kappa house in Metairie overlapped with campus shoots, with crews rotating between the sorority mansion and Tulane from spring through fall 2015.
- Season 2 began building hospital sets at 20th Century Fox Studios in mid-2016, with the official filming window listed as July 20 to December 6, 2016.
Behind-the-scenes logistics and crew insights
On the ground in **New Orleans**, the production required a mix of local crew and Los Angeles-based department heads, with some reports suggesting that the show's Southern shooting schedule contributed to roughly 20-25 percent of Season 1's budget being spent on location-specific labor, permits, and housing. Local universities such as Tulane negotiated limited disruption to classes, allowing crews to film only during designated evening and weekend blocks on campus, which helped keep real-world student life separate from the show's fictional bloodbaths.
By the time production pivoted to Los Angeles for Season 2, the higher cost of studio time and parking-constrained Century City lots pushed the crew to adopt a "shoot-in-circuits" model: they block-shot entire hospital floors over several days instead of hopping between locations. A 2016 behind-the-scenes reel from Fox shows the production team using the same soundstage both for the hospital front desk area and the exterior "Carthage" clinic sign, underscoring how the Los Angeles setup leaned heavily on in-studio construction rather than distant location shoots.
Creative and practical reasons for the two-city approach
The choice to split the series' production sites between New Orleans and Los Angeles reflects both creative and economic decisions. Using Tulane's Gothic-style campus and the Metairie Kappa house allowed the Season 1 team to establish a distinct, almost self-contained "campus bubble" world without the need for extensive CGI or elaborate set builds, while the New Orleans tax-incentive environment at the time helped offset some location-based costs.
Meanwhile, shifting to Los Angeles for Season 2 gave the show's high-profile ensemble-Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others-easier access to support services, stunt crews, and post-production facilities, while also aligning with the usual workflow of 20th Television and 20th Century Fox Studios. This dual-city strategy effectively let the series "grow up" visually, transitioning from a campus-nightmare setting to a more contained yet stylized hospital stage, all while preserving the show's signature over-the-top color design and rapid-fire cliffhangers.
Frequently asked questions about filming locations
- Can fans visit the Scream Queens Kappa house in Metairie?
- Is the Wallace University campus in Scream Queens open to the public?
- Did any scenes from Season 2 use real hospitals as backdrops?
- How much of Scream Queens was shot on practical sets versus CGI?
- What role did the New Orleans location play in the show's overall tone?
Expert answers to Scream Queens Production Sites Revealed What Happened Behind The Scenes queries
What cities did Scream Queens film in?
Scream Queens primarily filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana for Season 1, using Tulane University's uptown campus and a Metairie residence as the Kappa Kappa Tau house, and then shifted to Los Angeles, California for Season 2, with interiors and key sequences shot at 20th Century Fox Studios in Century City.
Where is the Scream Queens university filmed?
The fictional Wallace University in Scream Queens is based on the real Tulane University uptown campus in New Orleans, with scenes shot in quads, academic buildings, and the Lavin-Bernick Center to represent the show's college setting.
Where is the Kappa Kappa Tau house in real life?
The Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house for Season 1 is filmed at a real residence located at 560 Northline Street in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, which the production team dressed and lit to match the show's exaggerated sorority aesthetic.
Why did Scream Queens move locations between seasons?
Scream Queens shifted from New Orleans to Los Angeles production sites for Season 2 because the hospital-centric storyline suited the tightly controlled environments of studio soundstages, allowed easier coordination with the show's star cast, and streamlined post-production workflows at 20th Century Fox.
Is Scream Queens still filming in New Orleans?
No current episodes of Scream Queens are being filmed in New Orleans; the series' last production activity was in Los Angeles for Season 2, which wrapped principal photography in December 2016 and has not restarted new seasons as of 2026.
Can fans visit the Scream Queens Kappa house in Metairie?
Fans can locate the exterior of the Kappa Kappa Tau house at 560 Northline Street in Metairie, but it is a private residence and not open to the public for tours; visitors are encouraged to respect residents' privacy and avoid lingering or blocking driveways.
Is the Wallace University campus in Scream Queens open to the public?
The Tulane University campus used as Wallace University is a working university quad and is open during regular campus hours, though interior buildings and classrooms shown in the series are not generally designated as "tourist spots" and may restrict access during classes and events.
Did any scenes from Season 2 use real hospitals as backdrops?
Season 2's hospital exteriors were largely constructed or adapted from existing facilities and studio backlots in the Los Angeles area, with only limited use of real hospital exteriors; most of what viewers see as hospital corridors and rooms were built on soundstages at 20th Century Fox.
How much of Scream Queens was shot on practical sets versus CGI?
Industry estimates suggest that at least 80-85 percent of Scream Queens was captured on practical sets, real locations, and studio builds, with CGI reserved mainly for minor enhancements such as blood splatter cleanup, set extensions, or digital signage rather than entire environments.
What role did the New Orleans location play in the show's overall tone?
The New Orleans production sites gave Season 1 a humid, slightly eerie backdrop that complemented the series' Southern-tinged satire of wealth, privilege, and campus culture, while also allowing the production to leverage the city's distinctive architecture and nocturnal lighting to heighten the horror-comedy atmosphere.