Have you ever been watching a movie or television show and suddenly thought, “Wait a minute—I know that place”?
If you live in Westchester, there’s a good chance you really do.
For decades, Hollywood has been quietly transforming familiar Westchester locations into everything from wealthy fictional suburbs and Gilded Age mansions to foreign airports and mysterious corporate headquarters.
Tom Hanks wandered through Rye Playland in Big. HBO’s Succession turned Westchester County Airport into airports around the world. The Gilded Age discovered an ideal backdrop at Lyndhurst Mansion, while Apple TV+’s Severance has used multiple Westchester locations to create its strange and unsettling world.
And the filming continues today.
Here are some of the most famous movies and television shows with surprising Westchester connections.
Big — Rye Playland
Perhaps no Westchester movie location is more iconic than Playland Park in Rye.
The historic Art Deco amusement park appears in the beloved 1988 Tom Hanks comedy Big.
It’s here that young Josh Baskin encounters the mysterious Zoltar fortune-telling machine and makes the wish that changes everything.
The movie turned an already beloved Westchester landmark into a piece of pop-culture history.
But Big wasn’t Playland’s only Hollywood moment.
The park has appeared in numerous productions over the years, including Fatal Attraction, Working Girl, The Americans and Your Friends & Neighbors. More recently, the Playland boardwalk was used during production of Marty Supreme.
For Westchester movie fans, it’s one of the easiest famous filming locations to actually experience yourself.
Westchester location: Rye Playland, Rye
The Gilded Age — Lyndhurst Mansion, Yonkers and Beyond
HBO’s The Gilded Age needed spectacular architecture to recreate the extravagant world of America’s late-19th-century elite.
Fortunately, Westchester has plenty of it.
One of the show’s standout locations is Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown.
The extraordinary Gothic Revival estate overlooking the Hudson River has provided both interior and exterior locations for the series.
Once the home of railroad magnate Jay Gould, Lyndhurst is so authentically Gilded Age that relatively little imagination is required to picture the elaborate dresses, carriages and lavish lifestyles of the show’s characters.
The production has also filmed at the historic Yonkers train station and in White Plains.
Season 3 returned to both Lyndhurst and Yonkers, further cementing the show’s connection to Westchester.
Westchester locations: Tarrytown, Yonkers, White Plains and other locations
Severance — Yonkers, Hartsdale, Mount Vernon and More
Fans of Apple TV+’s Severance may be surprised by just how much Westchester contributes to the show’s distinctive look.
One particularly important location is the Hudson River Museum and its historic Glenview home in Yonkers.
The property becomes the Perpetuity Wing at Lumon Industries, where employees encounter the strange corporate history of company founder Kier Eagan and his descendants.
It’s a particularly clever use of the location because contemporary museum architecture sits beside an elaborate historic mansion.
The production has also filmed at Ridge Road Park in Hartsdale, used studio facilities in Mount Vernon and returned to additional Westchester locations for later filming.
According to Westchester County’s film office, the area’s trees, stone walls, architecture and unusual landscapes became important ingredients in creating the visual world of the series.
Westchester locations: Yonkers, Hartsdale, Mount Vernon and additional locations
Succession — White Plains and Westchester County Airport
The Roy family of HBO’s Succession seemed to be constantly boarding private jets to somewhere important.
But sometimes they didn’t travel nearly as far as viewers were led to believe.
Production frequently used Westchester County Airport.
During Season 3, the airport was transformed into airports supposedly located in places including Virginia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Scenes were also filmed in White Plains.
It’s an amusingly appropriate Westchester connection for a series about an extraordinarily wealthy New York family whose lives revolve around corporate power, private aircraft and expensive real estate.
Westchester locations: Westchester County Airport and White Plains
Your Friends & Neighbors — Westchester Playing Itself
Apple TV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm, takes Westchester’s Hollywood connection one step further.
This time, the county doesn’t have to pretend to be somewhere else.
The series revolves around a disgraced hedge-fund manager living among the wealthy residents of the fictional Westmont Village—and actual Westchester communities help create that world.
Production has filmed extensively in Rye, Harrison, West Harrison, Purchase, New Rochelle, White Plains and Briarcliff Manor, among other locations.
Rye Playland has also appeared in the series.
The combination of beautiful homes, affluent neighborhoods, country clubs, local businesses and picturesque downtowns gives the fictional Westmont Village an unmistakably Westchester feel.
Westchester locations: Rye, Harrison, Purchase, New Rochelle, White Plains, Briarcliff Manor and others
The Penguin — Sleepy Hollow Country Club and Yonkers
Even Gotham City has a little Westchester in it.
HBO’s The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, filmed portions of the series in Westchester.
Locations included Yonkers and the spectacular Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor.
The historic club is centered around Woodlea, an enormous late-19th-century mansion overlooking the Hudson.
With its grand architecture and sprawling grounds, it’s easy to understand why filmmakers keep returning to the property.
The Penguin isn’t the only production to discover it. The Blacklist, Bull, Younger and Ray Donovan have also filmed at the club.
Westchester locations: Briarcliff Manor and Yonkers
No Hard Feelings — Rye
Jennifer Lawrence also spent some time filming in Westchester.
Her 2023 comedy No Hard Feelings used the Manursing Island Club in Rye as a location.
The private waterfront club sits along Long Island Sound, providing the kind of affluent coastal atmosphere that filmmakers can find in several parts of Rye.
Westchester location: Manursing Island Club, Rye
The Age of Innocence — Bedford and Irvington
Westchester’s relationship with period drama certainly didn’t begin with The Gilded Age.
Martin Scorsese’s lavish 1993 adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence filmed in Bedford and Irvington.
The film starred Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder and recreated the highly structured world of wealthy 1870s New York society.
Westchester’s historic homes and landscapes made it an ideal extension of that world.
Westchester locations: Bedford and Irvington
Fatal Attraction — Bedford and Rye Playland
One of the biggest thrillers of the 1980s also came to Westchester.
Fatal Attraction, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, filmed in Bedford and at Rye Playland.
The 1987 film became a cultural phenomenon and received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Close.
Seeing cheerful Playland associated with a psychological thriller may feel a little strange today, but it demonstrates just how versatile the Westchester landmark has been for filmmakers.
Westchester locations: Bedford and Rye
Wall Street — Scarsdale
Michael Douglas appeared in another iconic 1980s film with a Westchester connection.
Oliver Stone’s Wall Street filmed along Metro-North’s Harlem Line, including at Scarsdale station.
The 1987 movie introduced audiences to Gordon Gekko, the ruthless financier who became one of the most recognizable movie characters of the decade.
Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
For Westchester commuters, it’s a reminder that even an ordinary train platform can have a little Hollywood history.
Westchester location: Scarsdale
Presumed Innocent — Bedford, Yonkers and White Plains
Long before the recent television adaptation, Harrison Ford starred in the 1990 film version of Presumed Innocent.
The legal thriller filmed in several Westchester communities, including Bedford, Yonkers and White Plains.
Once again, the county’s ability to provide suburban homes, urban environments and civic architecture made it useful for a production requiring several very different settings.
Westchester locations: Bedford, Yonkers and White Plains
The Secret of My Success — Somers
Michael J. Fox came to northern Westchester for the 1987 comedy The Secret of My Success.
Scenes were filmed at Lasdon Mansion in Somers.
The property is part of what is now Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial, making this another filming location Westchester residents can still visit.
Westchester location: Somers
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — White Plains
Amazon’s award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was celebrated for its meticulous recreation of mid-century New York.
Some of that world was created in Westchester.
The production filmed at the former Good Counsel property in White Plains, taking advantage of the site’s historic architecture.
The series joins a long list of productions that have discovered White Plains can convincingly become many different places and periods.
Westchester location: White Plains
Only Murders in the Building — Elmsford and White Plains
Even everyone’s favorite amateur murder investigators have a Westchester connection.
Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, has filmed at Maxwell’s Pub in Elmsford as well as the Westchester County Archives.
So while the fictional Arconia is synonymous with Manhattan, not everything viewers see on the series was actually filmed in New York City.
Westchester locations: Elmsford and White Plains
Leave the World Behind — Katonah
The Netflix psychological thriller Leave the World Behind, starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon, also has a Westchester connection.
Production filmed in Katonah.
The movie’s unsettling story centers on two families dealing with a mysterious technological collapse, making the quieter landscapes north of New York City a fitting setting for parts of the production.
Westchester location: Katonah
Maestro — Rye
Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, about legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, filmed at a private residence in Rye.
Cooper directed and starred in the film opposite Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre.
The critically acclaimed movie received seven Academy Award nominations.
It’s another example of Rye’s extraordinary range as a filming location—from amusement parks and country clubs to beautiful private homes.
Westchester location: Rye
The Post — Westchester
Steven Spielberg has also brought major productions to Westchester.
His 2017 drama The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, included filming in the county.
The movie tells the story of The Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers and received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress.
It’s far from Spielberg’s only connection to the area. His productions have repeatedly taken advantage of Westchester locations, including more recent filming in White Plains.
Movies Have Been Coming Here for Generations
Westchester’s film history stretches considerably further back than many people realize.
Ragtime filmed on Main Street in Mount Kisco.
Marathon Man, starring Dustin Hoffman, used Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
Billy Bathgate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman, filmed in Irvington.
It Could Happen to You, starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda, used Yonkers and Dobbs Ferry.
And Hollywood’s relationship with the county goes back even further, with productions using locations around Croton-on-Hudson and Tarrytown decades ago.
Why Hollywood Loves Westchester
The answer becomes obvious when you look at a map.
Within a relatively short drive, a production can find an affluent suburban neighborhood, an historic mansion, a gritty urban street, a country club, a working airport, a charming Main Street, a train station, a prison, rolling countryside, a Hudson River vista or a Long Island Sound waterfront.
Westchester can even stand in for other countries.
Yet it’s all located immediately north of New York City.
The county has also developed substantial production infrastructure, particularly around Yonkers and Mount Vernon, making Westchester more than simply a collection of pretty locations.
It’s become a genuine film and television production hub.
And Hollywood Is Still Here
Westchester’s starring role isn’t slowing down.
Recent productions have included Dexter: Resurrection, Elsbeth, Poker Face, And Just Like That, The Gilded Age, Severance and Your Friends & Neighbors.
In 2026, filming has continued around the county, including productions using White Plains and Rye Playland.
So the next time you see trailers, lighting rigs and mysterious signs directing production crews through your Westchester neighborhood, pay attention.
You might be looking at the setting for the next hit television series or major Hollywood movie.
And when it finally appears on screen, you’ll get to say what Westchester residents have been saying for decades:
“I know exactly where that is.”