Where was ‘Your Friends & Neighbor’ Season 2 filmed? Real places behind Westmont Village
Along with its wacky schemes, 'Your Friends and Neighbors' has also managed to steal the hearts of its audience through some very lavish houses, 'Selling Sunset' style. The houses in the show constitute a pivotal part, showcasing the central characters' affluent status. Production designer Anu Schwartz recently revealed everything she and her team considered while choosing filming spots for the series, according to PEOPLE. The team prioritizes the character, their intentions, and their role in the overall storyline. The choice is rarely random, and in a way, gives viewers a glimpse into the superficial nature of Westmont Village residents.
One of the most important settings in the show is Andrew ‘Coop’ Cooper's (Jon Hamm) and Melanie ‘Mel’ Cooper’s marital home. The house, like others in the show, is luxurious but carries a homely vibe. “We always wanted Mel to have more of a refined taste and set her apart from other characters in the show, and also create this warmth in her home,” Schwartz explained. “So it's beautiful and warm at the same time, in contrast to Coop's divorce home, which is a little colder and less personal.” In reality, the house is located in Harrison, a suburb in New York. Since it was the central character's house, the team wanted it to stand out. They call the place 'McMansion.' According to them, the residence is massive and magnificent, but has a few details that are just off. This mirrors Coop, who, despite pretending to be of elite status, is in reality an unemployed father trying to keep up with his family's extravagant needs.
Nick Brandes (Mark Tallman) finds himself embroiled in the personal affairs of Coopers after an extramarital affair with Mel, the ex-wife of his former best friend. In the second season, the former NBA player moves into a new house. Schwartz took a lot of inspiration from the houses of other basketball players. “Nick was a great character because being a basketballer, it’s so fun to just look into who he paralleled in reality with other players,” Schwartz said. “So the research was so great because they’re always fun homes.” The house that the team zeroed in on was in Long Island. It has a bowling alley and a massive basketball court. The team ensured the new house was an improvement on his earlier home. This reveals that he moved upward in life from Season 1 to Season 2.
Samantha ‘Sam’ Levitt (Olivia Munn), clearly a misfit in the Westmont Village, has that inadequacy reflected in her residence. “She had to fit in. So she had to create a home that reflected the neighborhood and her neighbors,” Schwartz shared. “She just stepped right up to the line of almost garish, but was able to pull it together. And a lot of that thought went into her accessories and things that she had. She would have leopard-skin something, but the furniture had to still be nice.” The house featured artworks by popular painter Will Cotton. Schwartz stated that his painting had a “cotton candy” feel, which they believed reflected Levitt’s intention. She wanted to stand out and be accepted as part of this community. Expensive paintings and accessories were her way of doing that. Her house is located in the town of Purchase.
Owen Ashe (James Marsden) is the newcomer on the block and Coop's latest target. Ashe is a shipping magnate and a global businessman. His wealth allows him to own two homes of distinct styles. The first in Westmont symbolizes his elite stature and financial reach, filled with imported items. “Because he is a shipping magnate and global businessman, we wanted to reflect his financial reach with that, and how he can move things around the world, like objects, antiquities, and paintings,” Schwartz shared. “So, where someone might have an average Picasso, he has the most collected Picassos. We found ones that were in private collections, that maybe auctioned for $30, $40, $50 million, upwards of $100 million. So we could see that he has got that reach.” This "eclectic and impulsive" home was located in Long Island. The second one in Hamptons was more modern and chic, reflecting his power to buy anything he wanted. “He buys what he likes in the moment, and he has the power and the money to do it,” Schwartz added.
The houses, in a way, are contrasting entities in the show. They compete with each other on behalf of their owners to prove who is the most affluent of them all. The critically acclaimed series drops fresh episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
