The best TV shows make us suspend our disbelief. They can take us to outer space, a medieval kingdom, or even a fictional Southern town. The shows we remember— the ones that connect with us the most— take time to make their settings feel real. How a show’s set is designed, and the artists’ attention to detail, can have a powerful impact on how the program is received by its audience. Is it somewhere we want to spend our time? Can we imagine what life is like when the cameras aren’t rolling?
The interior sets for The Andy Griffith Show were filmed inside Desilu Studios, as were many other shows at the time. But when Andy and the gang were seen anywhere outside, the production was filming at Forty Acres, a back lot in Culver City, California. The downtown area of homes and shops that made up Mayberry were just some of the building fronts and set throughout the backlot.
In 1967, the Chicago Tribune TV Week published “All About Mayberry”, in which Griffith shared how he felt about the iconic set.
“Funny thing about the Mayberry we know at Forty Acres,” said Griffith, “is that even though all of the buildings are false fronts, when you’re working there you get the feeling of being in a small town. You forget that on the other side of the fence is one of the biggest cities in the world.”
Throughout the show’s first season, as Griffith and the cast acclimated to their new workspace, the town became a home for the man who played its sheriff. Griffith knew he wanted to imbue Mayberry with the real-life texture of small-town USA.
“The show was not set in North Carolina to start with. It was just somewhere in the south, but I hated saying things like Central City. I wanted to say Siler City, which is a real town,” said Griffith.
“Finally, we started saying Siler City and Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville, and it just became North Carolina, and I think it helped.”
