'The Plot Against America' Is Largely Set in New Jersey, but Where Did the Series Film?

If you're looking for a fresh (and errr, relevant) series to binge, HBO's The Plot Against America might be up your alley. The newly released miniseries has audiences raving, and delivers a star-studded cast with a timely plot that asks some hard-hitting questions about America and the direction society is moving in. 

The Plot Against America is actually historical fiction, and is set in an alternate universe where famous aviator and arguable Nazi-sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh, wins the 1940 presidential election against Franklin D. Roosevelt, thereby changing the course of American history.

And while many of the characters and much of the plot is rooted in actual history, can the same be said about the setting? Or, more to the point, where is The Plot Against America filmed? Keep reading to find out where the series is shot, along with everything you need to know about this new show.

First, a quick real history lesson. In 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his third term in a pivotal election that saw the nation divided about whether the United States should become involved in the ongoing war in Europe.

Roosevelt's 1940 win allowed for America to enter World War II in 1941, collaborating with British and Russian forces to defeat Adolf Hitler and stop the spread of Nazism all over the world.

Based on a 2004 novel by Philip Roth, The Plot Against America offers an alternate history: one that explores the question of what would have happened in America if Roosevelt had lost the election and the country had remained steadfast in its isolationist policy that preceded their involvement in World War II.

The story is told from the perspective of a Jewish family living in New Jersey, as they watch Lindbergh's rise to power and the nation creeping toward becoming its own fascist state.

Starring an illustrious cast that includes Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector and John Turturro, Philip Roth's novel of a celebrity-turned-politician who wins the presidential election on a platform of fear-mongering and blaming "others" is a bleak, but timely story.

Both The Plot Against America book and series take place in New Jersey, and for the most part, filming for the series also took place in the Garden State. There was a lot of on-location filming in Jersey City: for example, Temple Beth-El, a large and well-known synagogue, plus the Greenville shopping district, feature prominently throughout the series.

Much of the on-location filming also took place in downtown Paterson and Newark, N.J., as well as a few days of shooting in New York City, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. During their time in Baltimore and D.C., the crew also spent a few days filming on the deck of the SS John W. Brown, a cargo ship built during World War II.

Beyond the days spent filming on location, the cast and crew also spent under a month shooting at the LUMBERYARD Center for Film and Performing Arts. The 12,000 square-foot soundstage in New York's Catskills served as a production base to support the show's set dressing, costume, scenic and construction departments. 

Stream The Plot Against America on HBO. New episodes drop Mondays at 9 p.m. EST.