February 19, 2015 at 9:15 am

culture

Reel Toronto: Beauty & the Beast — Season One (Part Two)

Toronto’s extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn’t always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city.

These days you don’t have to be some mega-successful, big-bucks show to keep going season after season. If you’re Mad Men or Orphan Black or the first few seasons of Breaking Bad or even Hannibal, you don’t need big ratings to stave off cancellation as much as a quality product and a dedicated fan base. Its third season hasn’t even aired yet, but Beauty and the Beast just got picked up for a fourth season of its set-in-New-York-but-filmed-in-Toronto adventures of excitement and romance. Across the internet, the Beasties are delighted (yes, they really call themselves that) and we’re happy to point out the not-actually-New-York bits to be seen in the second half of the show’s first season (having, you know, already looked at the first half last time out).

So, picking up where we left off: she’s a New York detective, he’s like a man-beast soldier guy and they love each other very much, much like their original incarnations did in a fairly successful but long since cancelled 1980s TV series. Here, in the 12th episode, we find our heroine out for a lovely New York jog.

Except, as we can see…

…especially in this reverse shot, we’re actually in St. James Park. (Remember this park: it may just pop up again!)

There’s also a karaoke bit in this bar…

…which, we can’t quite tell, but we think it may be the Cadillac Lounge, where they film many such things.

Our case is bolstered by the fact that this bar, seen in the 13th episode, is definitely, most certainly that very same bar.

You can tell because, like, there’s a Cadillac hanging from the ceiling.

But, gosh, don’t think these characters only drink alcohol. They also like coffee…

…and here we are at The Mascot, which we recently saw in that Mortal Instruments movie with the long name.

Flash mob!

Who doesn’t love a romantic and spontaneous flash mob? This one is right here, on Toronto Street, just a block away from the King Eddie.

This surreptitious meeting takes place not very far away, tucked in just north of King, west of Victoria.

Here we are in a New York City park and you can kind of see a (fake) subway entrance back there.

If you’re paying attention, yup, it’s the other side of St. James Park!

Now, Catherine’s apartment is a very important location as she and Vincent seem to end almost every episode canoodling there. Here, her rooftop is rather obviously a set.

But in this episode she goes out there in the daytime…

…and you can see the ol’ firehall tower at Yonge and College back there. So, they’re actually on the top of the cool, kind of castle-like building that houses a Starbucks, right at the corner there. (In case you never noticed the Starbucks was in such a cool building, you may be interested to know it was built by [really!] The Independent Order of Odd Fellows.)

We’ll skip ahead a few episodes as you don’t actually get a look at the building’s exterior (despite many scenes of fire-escape-canoodles) until late in the season.

When we finally pull back, it’s rather easily recognizable as the Flatiron Building.

Vincent even jumps from way up there down onto Front Street.

There’s a lovely gala party in episode 15 that starts with this pan…

…down to the old east entrance at the ROM.

Dig this romantic shot of the staircase right by it.

And this less-romantic scene in the galleries.

This restaurant…

…is Weslodge, which used a nearly identical shot of the balcony in The Strain.

This modern-looking lair is actually, once again, at St. James Park. Actually, it’s the fancy new annex they’ve added to the cathedral.

Here we are supposed to be in Central Park, which means we’re probably really in High Park, though there’s nothing definitive to see.

When we venture into the Central Park stables, however, we’re actually in the oft-filmed stables at Casa Loma, which have been in everything from X-Men to the last season of Hannibal.

As you can see, this map suggests we’re supposed to be somewhere in Lower Manhattan…

But we’re actually on Durie Street, just off Bloor.

This scene, with the Mobilicity in the background, is just around the corner.

Here we are on the roof of the police station…

…which, as you may recall from last time, is the Ontario Heritage Trust building on Adelaide.

Our hero, Vincent, moves into new headquarters…

…in the very handsome Bank of Toronto building at Yonge and Queen.

Slightly more obscurely, this alley…

…is this one behind Massey Hall; St. Enoch’s Square.

This is a totally different angle…

…but it looks like the same place.

More easily spotted, this car is parked on Wellington Street, outside the Soho Grand.

After which we wander…

…through the adjacent…

…Clarence Park.

A big setting in the season’s penultimate episode is the “Ashcroft Hotel”…

…which you may recognize…

…as the Trump Toronto.

The final episode of the first season involves a trip to this quaint small town, but despite the pickup truck, we’re actually in Cabbagetown, on Parliament.