Is San Junipero A Real Place?

Seeing as "San Junipero" is set in a typical Southern California town, one would assume that the creators would film their episode there. While Season 3 of "Black Mirror" is more global than previous seasons, largely in part due to its diverse (and American) cast, the series wasn't filmed in the United States. Key interior shots, such as those in nightclubs, were primarily filmed in London.

The exterior shots, which display the beauty of the fictional San Junipero, were filmed in Cape Town. The episode was filmed in South Africa to bring down costs, according to series producer Laurie Borg. "I knew we could not afford to film in the U.S., but also knew South Africa could deliver 'period' Americana streets and coastlines," Borg said about the episode in the book "Inside Black Mirror" (via Vulture). A number of other episodes from Season 3, including Bryce Dallas Howard's "Nosedive," were also filmed in South Africa.

While San Junipero isn't a real place, Charlie Brooker and the rest of "Black Mirror" team managed to make the fictional town feel as real and evocative as possible, immortalizing Kelly and Yorkie's relationship. For stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis, filming in South Africa was a key bonding moment — resulting in an experience that likely wouldn't have manifested if the episode had been filmed in California. "Cape Town was so gorgeous, and it was really special for me because I'm half South African—my Dad is from Pretoria—and it was the first time I got a chance to work in South Africa," Mbatha-Raw told The Daily Beast. "And actually Mackenzie's mother is from South Africa, so both of us have a South African parent and we got to do this together."