THE BETTER SISTER on Prime Video is a suspenseful limited series about a murder investigation, long-held secrets, and family drama. The show is based on Alafair Burke‘s 2019 best-selling book of the same name and is directed by Craig Gillespie. Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks play sisters who haven’t talked to each other in a long time and are caught in a dangerous web of lies, mistrust, and past trauma. The show has strong female leads and stories that take place in both cities and on the coast. The story is interesting, and the locations are beautiful and help set the mood for each episode.
THE BETTER SISTER STORY PLOT
Chloe (Jessica Biel), a career-driven woman in Manhattan who seems to have a perfect life, is at the center of the show. At her high-profile magazine job, she’s successful, calm, and well-liked. But beneath the surface, things are starting to go wrong. Her marriage is falling apart, and she is getting scary threats at work and at home. When she gets home one night, her husband Adam (Corey Stoll) has been killed in the living room.
As the investigation goes on, it turns out that Chloe’s sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks), who just got out of rehab, is Adam’s ex-wife and the biological mother of Chloe’s teenage son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan). When tragedy forces the sisters to get back together, they have to deal with old grudges, wounds, and secrets that have been buried for a long time. The sisters’ complicated relationship becomes a key part of the mystery as it unfolds.
Kim Dickens plays Detective Nancy Guidry, who is in charge of the case and looks into Chloe and Nicky’s past in great detail. As more clues and suspects are found, tensions rise, showing how broken the bond between sisters can get and how far someone would go to hide a dark secret.
THE BETTER SISTER FILMING DATES
The limited series The Better Sister was filmed from early June 2024 through the first half of October 2024.
Principal photography began during the first week of June 2024 and continued for several months, wrapping up by mid-October the same year. During this period, the production team captured scenes across multiple locations in New York City, Queens, and Long Island.
THE BETTER SISTER FILMING LOCATIONS LIST
While The Better Sister delivers a suspense-filled drama, its visual richness owes much to its real-world locations. Filmed entirely in New York State, the series makes excellent use of both urban and suburban settings to create an atmosphere of tension and elegance.
NEW YORK CITY – MANHATTAN
Much of the show’s glamour and tension plays out in Manhattan, where Chloe’s professional life unfolds. The movies were shot in the Chelsea neighborhood, especially around 23rd Street, which is known for having a mix of residential and commercial buildings.
Other key locations include:
Fiorello La Guardia Park near Bleecker Street and West Broadway, offering a picturesque and subtly dramatic urban backdrop.
• Fiorello La Guardia Park is close to Bleecker Street and West Broadway and it makes for a beautiful and slightly dramatic city background.
• Several scenes have a sleek, modern look thanks to Tribeca’s high-end lofts and cobblestone streets.
• A famous place called Guastavino’s under the 59th Street Bridge shows up in a number of important scenes. It was a great place for formal events in the series because it had beautiful arched ceilings and stone walls.
• Streets on the Upper West Side, such as 82nd Street and Riverside Drive and Central Park West at 66th Street, were used to show Chloe’s wealthy neighborhood. Parts of these areas were temporarily closed off for filming, and residents were given notices.
One of New York’s most-filmed landmarks, Central Park, also shows up briefly in a few episodes, adding to the city’s recognizable and moody look
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Outside of the five boroughs, the series takes viewers to the East End of Long Island, a sharp contrast to the city’s bustle. The show’s producers leaned on Long Island’s Hamptons, Oyster Bay, and Port Jefferson to capture the serene, upscale world where part of the story unfolds.
• Oyster Bay, a historic hamlet in Nassau County, provided scenes that showcased traditional New England-style homes and coastal charm. It’s also home to:
• Oyster Bay Railroad Museum
• Raynham Hall Museum, tying in subtle themes of legacy and history
• Port Jefferson, in Suffolk County, lent its artistic flair and quiet streets to the show. The village is famous for its Theatre Three and Dickens Festival, which brings a timeless, almost theatrical vibe—ideal for a drama rooted in personal history and secrets.
These Long Island locations were used to emphasize the emotional distance between Chloe and Nicky’s past and present, offering a symbolic backdrop for their journey toward reckoning and reconciliation.
QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY
Moving beyond Manhattan, The Better Sister also utilized Queens for many of its indoor scenes. The borough’s extensive film studios were instrumental in building the series’ complex interior sets, including Chloe’s high-end apartment and police interrogation rooms.
• Locations in Far Rockaway and Broad Channel brought a quieter, waterside contrast to the city-centric shots. Filming took place at:
• North Channel Yacht Club (16-22 Channel Road) for select waterside scenes.
• Cross Bay Boulevard, particularly between East 16th Road and East 18th Road.
• Sunset Cove Park, a tranquil nature area on West 19th Road, used for outdoor scenes featuring the skyline and waterfront views.
The Queens-based studios allowed the production team to create controlled environments, which helped bring the intricacies of the domestic and legal drama to life.
ON-SET MOMENTS & BEHIND THE SCENES
During filming, stars Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks helped keep spirits high. They organized bonding activities for the cast, including attending Justin Timberlake’s Forget Tomorrow World Tour at Madison Square Garden, bringing a bit of Hollywood glamour to the New York production.
From busy city streets to serene coastal views, the variety of locations used in The Better Sister not only grounds the series in realism but also deepens the visual storytelling. Manhattan’s sharp lines and urban density mirror Chloe’s structured, stressful life, while Long Island’s open spaces reflect the unresolved past that begins to resurface.
WATCHÂ THE BETTER SISTER OFFICIAL TRAILER:
The Better Sister makes excellent use of New York State’s varied landscapes to build tension, highlight character contrast, and frame the mystery. The filming locations—ranging from iconic city parks and streets to quiet harborside towns—elevate the story and offer viewers a dynamic setting for the emotional and legal drama to unfold.
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