With Daredevil: Born Again back in action and filming in New York, there are some things that I was worried about, one being where the show was going to film. It seems as if the Disney+ show will fix my biggest gripe with the Netflix series.
During the Netflix era, my favorite game was to figure out where Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and his friends actually were in the city I live in. Filming the show in actual New York was the right move because Daredevil and Matt Murdock are very tied to the city. However, it did open up a critical lens from those who live here. Seeing the Bedford L train stop being sold to me as “Hell’s Kitchen” is something I still have not shut up about.
Being so tied to the city means that we all know exactly where things are shot. That’s why Born Again filming in the heart of actual Hell’s Kitchen is so special to me.
Yes, a new set picture emerged online when eagle-eyed fans caught a “Nelson Murdock Page” sign. The location of the sign (where fans also found a mural of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin on the wall) happens to be right in the 15 or so blocks that are known as Hell’s Kitchen. Often, I thought it was funny to have many heroes based in this area of Manhattan, a place that is just outside of Broadway and the theater district, but to actually see the show filming there warms my heart.
It might seem silly but it does make a difference.
New York is so rarely captured in an authentic way in film and television. We often get set recreations on Los Angeles sound stages that don’t even have the same street signs we have here. But when a show does film here and is not exactly accurate, it stings just a little bit more. We’re proud of our city and the love we have for it. Seeing our heroes who are supposedly born and raised here not actually exploring the city as such just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
So yes, seeing that Nelson, Murdock, and Page is set in actual Hell’s Kitchen rules. Makes all those moments in the Netflix show where I said, “That’s about 40 minutes away from where they’re selling,” feel like a bad dream. (I’m just kidding; I wasn’t that upset about it.) Still, getting to see Matt Murdock in areas of New York he really is supposed to be in just speaks to the authenticity of the show and the world building of Daredevil—which is why it is so nice to see Matty hitting the streets of Hell’s Kitchen today. Take a break, king. Hit up the Empanada Mama for me.
I hope the show continues this trend and films Daredevil: Born Again as true to New York as possible. It’s what we deserve as fans of the Defenders verse and especially as New Yorkers.
(featured image: Disney+)
