Netflix’s Legends arrived on May 7, 2026, and viewers have been just as obsessed with the backdrops as the story itself. The six-part crime drama follows a small team of ordinary British Customs officers recruited for a top-secret undercover operation to take down the country’s most dangerous drug gangs in 1990s Britain. The show leans heavily on real-world locations to sell that gritty, period-authentic atmosphere, and it works. So if you have been wondering where Legends was actually filmed, here is the full breakdown.
About Legends
Before diving into locations, a quick primer helps set the scene. Legends is a true-story drama created by Neil Forsyth, the writer behind The Gold and Guilt. It is set in early 1990s Britain during the final days of Margaret Thatcher’s government, when heroin deaths were rising sharply and illegal drug smuggling was spiralling out of control.
Rather than sending in trained intelligence agents, the government recruited ordinary Customs and Excise employees and sent them deep undercover. These agents built entirely new identities, called “legends,” and infiltrated some of Britain’s most dangerous criminal networks. The series stars Tom Burke as Guy, Steve Coogan as Don, Hayley Squires as Kate, Aml Ameen as Bailey, and Jasmine Blackborow as Erin.
Where was Legends filmed?
Legends was filmed primarily in England, with one international exception: Morocco. Despite scenes set in Pakistan, Germany, Glasgow, and other locations outside England, the production team kept almost all of their work within the UK and shot the rest in Morocco.
| Detail | Answer |
| Primary filming country | England, United Kingdom |
| International filming location | Morocco |
| Main English cities used | London, Liverpool, Portsmouth, St Albans |
| Production start | March/April 2025 |
| Production wrap | July 2025 |
| Total filming duration | Approximately 17 weeks |
| Pakistan scenes actually filmed in | Marrakech, Morocco |
| Germany scenes actually filmed in | Winterfold Forest, Cranleigh, Surrey |
| Glasgow scenes actually filmed in | England (not Scotland) |
| Show premiere date | May 7, 2026 |
| Streaming platform | Netflix |
Creator Neil Forsyth explained the approach plainly:
"Our guiding principles were to make it look cinematic and feel authentic. We shot almost exclusively in practical locations. The enormous amount of locations was a challenge for us, production-wise, but gives the viewer that sense of constantly moving into surprising new worlds."
Filming began around March or April 2025 and wrapped after roughly 17 weeks in July 2025.
| Country | Role in the Series |
| England | Primary filming location across London, Liverpool, Portsmouth, and St Albans |
| Morocco | Doubled for Pakistan and other Middle Eastern settings |
Was Legends filmed in London?
Yes, London was one of the biggest filming hubs for the series. Several distinct areas of the capital were used, each serving a different purpose within the story. Muswell Hill and its surrounding streets were transformed to look like early-1990s Britain, with production teams redesigning storefronts and bringing in period-era vehicles.
One of the most memorable London sequences comes late in the series, when Tom Burke’s character Guy is on the Underground. That scene was not filmed on an active Tube line. Instead, the production used the Museum Depot in Acton, a facility housing more than 320,000 objects from the history of London transport.
In episode one, Guy infiltrates a nightclub to locate drug dealers. That scene was shot at Fabric, the famous club in Farringdon. Custom House in London also features as one of the key official-looking spaces in the show.
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Was Legends filmed in Liverpool?
Yes. Liverpool plays a significant role in the production. The city’s rougher, more industrial aesthetic made it an ideal stand-in for parts of the story set in northern England. Key Liverpool filming locations include the Adelphi Hotel, Tobacco Docks, Brunswick Place, Goldsmith Street, Love Lane, and the Southern Area Memorial.
Full List of Legends Filming Locations in England
The production covered a wide range of sites across England. Below is the complete list provided by Netflix.
| Area | Specific Locations |
| Acton, London | Market Place, The Talbot Inn, The Museum Depot |
| Amersham | The Maltings |
| Barking, London | The Switch Building |
| Bedford | Millbrook Proving Ground |
| Cranleigh | Winterfold Forest |
| Dagenham, London | London East UK Business and Technical Park |
| Farringdon, London | Fabric Nightclub |
| Harlow | Harlow Greyhound Station |
| High Wycombe | Wormsley Estate |
| Hounslow, London | The Forces, Royal Cavalry Barracks |
| Liverpool | Adelphi Hotel, Tobacco Docks, Brunswick Place, Goldsmith Street, Love Lane, Southern Area Memorial |
| London (City) | Custom House |
| Manor Park, London | Space M4 |
| Muswell Hill, London | Carlton Cleaners and Launderers |
| Newhaven | West Quay |
| Pinner, London | Pinner Memorial Park |
| Reading | The Printworks |
| Seaford | Coastguard Cottages |
| St James’s, London | 55 Broadway |
| Stanford-le-Hope | Coryton Refinery |
| Watford | Watford Police Station and Magistrate’s Court |
| Welwyn Garden City | Nabisco Shredded Wheat Factory |
Where was the Germany scene filmed?
Legends features a short scene set in Germany in the later episodes. However, the crew did not travel to Germany. That scene was filmed at Winterfold Forest in Cranleigh, Surrey. It is a strong example of how the production used the English countryside to convincingly portray locations far beyond England’s borders.
Where was the Former Convent scene filmed?
In episode one, Steve Coogan’s character Don brings the recruits to a training facility described as a secret base used by the “spooks.” The real location is the All Saints Pastoral Centre in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The building was originally constructed at the turn of the 20th century as a convent for the Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster later acquired it in 1973 and converted it into a conference and retreat centre. It is a striking location and one of the most recognisable in the series.
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Why was Morocco used in Legends?
The story eventually moves beyond Britain, with scenes set in Karachi and the Khyber region of Pakistan. The production team did not film in Pakistan. Morocco served as the stand-in for those locations instead.
Morocco sits more than 1,500 miles from the UK, and Marrakech alone is roughly 4,500 miles from Karachi, so the substitution is considerable. The credits confirm that Legends “benefited from the support of Morocco for production,” which points to the Marrakech Film Commission’s tax incentive programme. That scheme attracts international productions by offering significant financial savings, and it has become a popular choice for British and American productions looking for a Middle Eastern or South Asian aesthetic without the logistical complexity of filming in those regions.
| Morocco Location | What It Represents in the Show |
| Marrakech (general) | Karachi and Khyber, Pakistan |
| Jemaa el-Fnaa Square | Street chase sequences |
| Bab Agnaou | Background architecture in Pakistani scenes |
| Koutoubia Mosque | Establishing shots |
| El Badi Palace | Background scenes |
| Menara Gardens | Atmospheric location scenes |
| Atlas Mountains | Distant landscape shots |
Visually, Morocco adds a sharp contrast to the English scenes. The Marrakech sequences feature crowded markets, sunlit alleys, and open desert landscapes that shift the entire mood of the series in its later episodes.
How Did the Production Make Locations Look Like the 1990s?
Director Brady Hood spoke about the approach to period detail. “We did extensive research and did what we could to capture 1990s-era Britain in contemporary London and Liverpool,” he said. “It was important to me that the period aspect was all correct, but we never captured shots just to show the period. We’re interacting with the era, but we’re not necessarily making a deal of it. It’s just part of everyday life.”
That practical philosophy meant filling streets with period-era signage, vintage vehicles, and clothing without making the era itself the spectacle. Streets like Fortis Green Road in Muswell Hill were redesigned to remove modern storefronts and replace them with early-90s equivalents, including old shop signage, phone boxes, and cars from that decade.
Can you visit the Legends filming locations?
Many of the locations used in Legends are open to the public or accessible as part of everyday city life. Here is a quick guide.
| Location | Visitor Access |
| Fabric Nightclub, Farringdon | Open as a working nightclub |
| Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool | Open as a functioning hotel |
| Pinner Memorial Park, London | Public park, open to all |
| Wormsley Estate, High Wycombe | Hosts public cricket and cultural events |
| Muswell Hill streets, London | Publicly accessible residential area |
| Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, Marrakech | Major public square, free to visit |
| Menara Gardens, Marrakech | Public gardens with small entry fee |
| El Badi Palace, Marrakech | Historic site open to tourists |
About the Show
Legends is a six-episode series created by Neil Forsyth and directed by Brady Hood (episodes one through four) and Julian Holmes (episodes five and six). It is produced by Lion Television and Tannadice Pictures in association with All3Media, and it is available to stream globally on Netflix. The series is based in part on the real experiences of Customs officers who went undercover in the early 1990s and is inspired by the book The Betrayer by Guy Stanton.
The cast includes Tom Burke, Steve Coogan, Hayley Squires, Aml Ameen, Jasmine Blackborow, Douglas Hodge, Tom Hughes, Johnny Harris, Alex Jennings, and Con O’Neill.
