Millions of viewers are hooked on the hit Apple TV show Severance. Currently the most-watched streaming series nationwide, it’s is a heady, groundbreaking blend of mystery, suspense, existential dread, philosophical intrigue and dark workplace comedy. Here in Ulster County, it’s extra exciting. We get to be the setting.
Technically, the show’s fictional city of Kier, PE is where the plot unfolds, but since a large part of Severance was shot in and around Ulster County, it sure feels to locals like we’re watching an alternate world that exists right down the street. When the characters aren’t trapped in a dystopian office building, more often than not, they’re roaming around exterior shots made in Ulster County.
Generous tax breaks have attracted numerous big-budget television and film productions to our area over recent years. While there’s reason to question the relative benefit to the local economy of such multi-million dollar tax passes, Ulster County has inarguably become a major filmmaking destination.
Guides to Severance‘s real-world locations abound online, so here we’ll focus on the Ulster County local’s perspective. What are these locations in real life? If you’re looking to do some Severance tourism in our area or are just curious about the true nature of the show’s sets, all will be revealed below. Praise Kier.
(We’ll talk about the show as little as possible and focus on the real-life locations, minor spoilers ahead.)
Severance location: Pip’s
Real location: Phoenicia Diner
5681 NY-28, Phoenicia, NY 12464
What’s a suspenseful show without a tense meeting-at-the-diner scene? In real life, Phoenicia Diner is a cheery, upscale place — far from the bleak, intimidating framing the show managed to pull out of the interior. In exterior shots, locals will notice the camera frames out the diner’s outdoor pavilion, normally visible to the right of the building when viewed from the road.
Even though it’s relatively remote, the Phoenicia Diner still can get packed, especially on the weekends, so don’t get hung up on sitting in that exact booth your favorite “outie” sat in. The food is almost universally praised as clean, rustic, modern and expertly prepared. For an out-of-the-way Catskills diner, this one is all class.
Severance location: dilapidated bridge
Real location: Wurts Street Bridge
Old US Rte 9W, Kingston, NY 12401
Reopened in 2024 after a full renovation, Wurts Street Bridge was looking worse for the wear when it was filmed for inclusion in several of season one’s episodes. You can easily visit this location in Kingston’s Rondout, a charming collection of waterfront stores, museums and restaurants. Just don’t expect to see rust and decay — millions were spent to rehab the bridge since you’ve seen it on screen. Today it lights up the waterfront with colorful LED lighting.
The dramatic phone booth shot featuring Irving Bailiff (John Turturro) was staged in front of Dynamic Automotive, a stone’s throw from the bridge.
Severance location: birthing center entrance
Real location: Mohonk Preserve Testimonial Gateway
35 NY-299, New Paltz, NY 12561
The dramatic entrance to an in-show birthing resort (season two, episode five) is, in reality, the Mohonk Preserve Testimonial Gateway, a the historic structure left over from a circa-1908 Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz.
Severance location: Great Doors
Real location: Red Owl Collective
25 Cornell St, Kingston, NY 12401
Though the drab exterior Great Doors appears fleetingly in season two, episode two, the interior of Red Owl Collective — its real-world counterpart — is anything but. Inside the old Wonderly’s building (part of Kingston’s once-thriving, long-gone sewing industry), Red Owl has set up a kaleidoscopic indoor vintage flea market with dozens of different vendors.
Cool detail: The show’s digital effects team used the same chrome lettering and font as Red Owl’s signage for its Great Doors logo, which itself originates from the original Wonderly’s sign (Red Owl being six of the eight letters in Wonderly’s — is it a clue?)
Severance location: Dieter Eagan National Forest
Real location: Minnewaska State Park Preserve
726 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401
Season two, episode four is heavily set in the real-world Minnewaska State Park Preserve, a sprawling outdoor nature haven beloved by locals and tourists alike for its myriad recreational possibilities. The show’s producers and location scouts describe hiking around its environs for days looking for the perfect shots.
Anyone looking to visit Minnewaska to view Awosting Falls (the tallest waterfall on the planet, according to duplicitous character Seth Milchick) and other grand vistas should know the parking lots here fill up quick at peak times, so coming early is a good strategy.
Don’t miss Sam’s Point, the location of the giant boulder on a cliff’s edge you see during the “ORTBO”.
Severance location: Leonora Lake Apartments
Real location: Cornell Park & Waterfront at the Strand Apartments
29 Wurts Street, Kingston, NY 12401
Cornell Park is a sleepy neighborhood spot for dog walkers, and in Severance, the character “Irv” sits on a bench with Celebration Wedding Chapel in the background. It is not one of Kingston’s numerous active wedding venues, but it sure does cut a striking silhouette.
You can also see “Irv” head into his apartment, which in the show is named for Leonora Eagan, 7th CEO of Lumon Industries. This is the real-life Waterfront at the Strand apartment complex, rated 2.6 stars on Google.
Severance location: nondescript building
Real location: Big Cat (closed)
428 Abeel St Kingston, NY 12401
In season two, episode three, Dr. Asal Reghabi and Mark Scout meet in front of a nondescript shack. This is a place you’ll find left out of many Severance location guides due to its obscurity, but this building was actually an underground live music and dance club named Big Cat which hosted a number of raging parties before burning out in 2024.
The boat shack set on the Rondout under the train trestle made for dramatic shots, though anyone who’d been to Big Cat will notice the large garage door on the front of the building has been taken out digitally by the visual effects team.
Severance location: Zufu
Real location: Eng’s
726 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401
Eng’s is Kingston’s oldest Chinese restaurant, dating back nearly 100 years to 1927, and still going strong.
We know from previews that Eng’s was transformed into a Chinese restaurant named Zufu for a future episode, but so far we have not witnessed the scene set here. With five episodes left to air at the time of this writing, we’re looking forward to seeing how this local icon is transformed for its screen debut. And we’ll be keeping an eye out for other local locations to add to this list.
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