It is an oft-used cliché that the setting of a film or television show often plays the role of an extra character. For example, in the reboot of "Sex and the City," New York bravely takes the place of Samantha, and this is definitely true of "Ginny & Georgia" (open in new tab). The Netflix series about a mother-daughter pair starting a new life in a new city has drawn many comparisons to "Gilmore Girls," including the similarly idyllic New England backdrop.

Like Stars Hollow, Ginny & Georgia's Wellesbury is full of quirky characters (including a flannel-shirted restaurant owner and slash-loving woman), small-town atmosphere, and postcard-perfect scenery. But unlike Rory and Lorelei, who are basically princesses in their cute little hamlet in Connecticut, Ginny (opens in new tab) and Georgia are subject to suspicion, judgment, and casual racism after moving to Massachusetts, to say the least, Not very pretty.

Still, aside from the very flawed residents, Wellesbury still makes for a pretty spectacular backdrop for the show and offers at least a little levity in the series' increasingly off-the-rails plot. There's something to know about the reality of Wellesbury, Massachusetts, where "after the suspicious death of her husband, she is interested in packing up her life and moving across the country.

Sadly, in the great tradition of such lovely on-screen New England towns as "Capeside" (open in new tab) in "Stars Hollow" and "Dawson's Creek" (open in new tab), Wellesbury does not actually exist. Nevertheless, Massachusetts does have small towns like Wellesley and West Newbury!

But while this means you can't get a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (or three) at the Blue Farm Cafe, there are still ways to soak up the small town atmosphere of Wellesbury. [According to IMDb (opens in new tab), the show was filmed primarily on an indoor soundstage at Triburo Studios in Toronto, with the nearby Ontario town of Coburg filling in for Wellesbury the rest of the time.

An August 2019 Cobourg Now (opens in new tab) report alerted residents that the show would be filmed at several locations in the waterfront town that has existed since 1798 and is known as "the jewel of Lake Ontario." Among those locations were "Audrey's In Town Fashions," which became a boutique where Ginny was caught giving five-finger discounts; "El Camino," a restaurant that was transformed into the Blue Farm Café; "Victoria Hall," a municipal building that became the Wellesbury Arts Center The city also had a number of other buildings. The report also noted that all Canadian flags and mailboxes scattered throughout downtown Coburg would be replaced with American ones.

In typical Canadian fashion, the town seemed very polite about being encroached upon by its southern neighbor; a report in the Northumberland News (opens in new tab) in August 2019 seemed excited about Coburg's role in the streaming series. At the same time, the town's official Twitter account, despite the American flag infesting the downtown area, "We're still Canadian Coborgs!" and offered a "fun reminder."

And it wasn't just the town that had to swap maple leaves for stars and stripes: several members of the cast of "Genie & Georgia" (open in new tab) also had to ditch the "e" to play Massachusetts residents. Sarah Weisglass, Raymond Ablack, Mason Temple, and Jennifer Robertson of Shits Creek, who play Maxine, Joe, Hunter, and Ellen, respectively, are all from Canada.