Netflix is heading into the competitive world of prep-school rowing with Crew Girl, a new teen drama combining sport, romance and old-money rivalries.
The series follows talented teenage rower Teagan Tao as she relocates to the fictional East Coast community of Eagle’s Cove, Massachusetts, following a family scandal. But when she arrives at prestigious Easton Prep and discovers there is no girls’ rowing team, her only route back onto the water is becoming coxswain of the school’s chaotic boys’ varsity crew.
Despite that New England setting, the real Crew Girl filming locations are actually thousands of miles away on Canada’s west coast.
Production took place around Victoria, British Columbia, where lakes, waterways and grand architecture were transformed into the affluent East Coast world of Easton Prep.
So where was Crew Girl filmed, where is the real Easton Prep, and can you visit the rowing locations from the Netflix series?
Where Was Crew Girl Filmed?
Crew Girl was filmed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
When Netflix announced the series in September 2025, production was already underway in Victoria. TheWrap also reported at the time that the series was filming in the British Columbia city.
Victoria makes a convincing substitute for the fictional Massachusetts setting thanks to its historic architecture, waterfront and surrounding natural landscape.
And for a series built around rowing, the region’s abundance of lakes and waterways became particularly important.
Where Were the Crew Girl Rowing Scenes Filmed?
Some of the most important Crew Girl filming locations can be found on the water around Victoria.
According to Teen Vogue, production filmed rowing sequences at Elk/Beaver Lake and the Gorge Waterway.
The cast didn’t simply sit inside boats while filmmakers created the sporting action around them. The publication reported that the actors underwent intensive rowing training ahead of production, including sessions with Olympic gold-medal-winning coxswain Terry Paul.
Filming the races also required an unusual setup. Teen Vogue reported that production used a floating camera barge capable of towing the actors’ boat for close-up shots, before switching to drone photography when the cast rowed independently.
Actors could spend as long as eight to 10 hours on the water while shooting the sequences.
Elk/Beaver Lake, Victoria
Elk and Beaver Lakes provided part of the watery backdrop for Easton Prep’s competitive rowing world.
Located north of central Victoria in Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park, the interconnected lakes are already popular for rowing and other water sports.
Teen Vogue specifically identified Elk/Beaver Lake as one of the places where the Crew Girl cast filmed after completing their rowing training.
The location helped give the fictional Massachusetts school its expansive waterside setting while allowing production to remain within the Greater Victoria area.
Unlike a closed studio set, the regional park is also open to the public, meaning viewers can visit one of the real locations used to create the series.
Gorge Waterway, Victoria
Production also headed to the Gorge Waterway, another of Victoria’s best-known stretches of water.
Running between Victoria Harbour and Portage Inlet, the Gorge provided another setting for the rowing sequences at the centre of the series.
The real waterway is surrounded by parks and walking routes, making this another Crew Girl location that visitors can experience without needing access to a private production site.
Using multiple waterways also allowed filmmakers to expand the fictional rowing world beyond a single lake, even though the story supposedly unfolds on the opposite side of the continent.
Where Is Easton Prep in Real Life?
Easton Prep isn’t a real Massachusetts boarding school.
The prestigious fictional academy is central to Crew Girl, providing the old-money environment where Teagan finds herself navigating wealthy classmates, sporting rivalries and a boys’ crew that initially doesn’t want her leadership.
However, local British Columbia production reporting identified Hatley Castle as one of the Victoria-area locations used to represent Easton Prep.
The grand historic estate sits on the grounds of Royal Roads University in Colwood, just outside Victoria.
With its stone façade, manicured grounds and imposing early-20th-century architecture, Hatley Castle provides exactly the kind of established East Coast prep-school image the story requires.
The location may also look familiar to movie and television fans for another reason: Hatley Castle has an extensive screen history and is particularly well known for appearing as part of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men franchise.
Can You Visit Hatley Castle?
Yes, although access to the building itself can vary.
Hatley Castle forms part of the Hatley Park National Historic Site at Royal Roads University, and visitors can explore the surrounding estate and gardens.
That makes it one of the most interesting Crew Girl filming locations for fans to add to a Victoria trip – particularly because the same destination connects the Netflix series with several other major film and television productions.
Visitors should check Royal Roads University’s current access and tour information before travelling if they specifically want to see inside the castle.
North Saanich
The production also had a confirmed presence in North Saanich, north of Victoria.
And this one comes with particularly strong documentation.
In a 2025 planning application to the District of North Saanich, Great Pacific Media and GPM-CGL Productions requested permission to use a property at 10555 West Saanich Road specifically for production of Crew Girl.
The application described plans to use two existing barn-style buildings and an office building for filming preparations, production activities and office functions.
Unlike Hatley Castle or the public waterways, however, this shouldn’t be treated as a Crew Girl tourist attraction. The planning documents establish the production’s presence there, but it was being used as a working production facility rather than somewhere fans should necessarily visit.
Is Crew Girl Really Set in Massachusetts?
Yes. While filming took place in British Columbia, the story itself moves Teagan from California to the fictional Eagle’s Cove, Massachusetts, where she enrols at Easton Prep.
That setting is important to the series’ atmosphere. Netflix describes Easton Prep as an elite school immersed in a world of old money and intense competition, providing a very different environment from Teagan’s previous life.
Victoria therefore has the unusual task of doubling not merely for another city, but for the affluent coastal New England world surrounding a fictional Massachusetts prep school.
Why Was Crew Girl Filmed in Victoria?
Netflix hasn’t publicly given a specific reason for choosing Victoria over Massachusetts, so it would be speculation to claim there was one deciding factor.
But geographically, the location works particularly well for this story.
Greater Victoria combines historic architecture with an enormous amount of accessible waterfront, giving filmmakers both the grand institutional setting needed for Easton Prep and real waterways on which to shoot the show’s extensive rowing sequences.
British Columbia is also an established Netflix production centre. Netflix itself has highlighted the province as home to productions including Virgin River, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Wrong Paris and Crew Girl.
What Is Crew Girl About?
According to Netflix’s official synopsis, 16-year-old Teagan Tao is a rising star in single-sculls rowing until a family scandal derails her future.
Forced to relocate to the East Coast, she starts again at Easton Prep – only to discover the school doesn’t have a girls’ rowing team.
Her solution is to become coxswain of its dysfunctional boys’ varsity crew.
That throws Teagan into a highly competitive world of wealth, sporting ambition and complicated relationships, including a rivalry involving team captain Josh Regis and overlooked but determined rower Cam Dillinger.
The series comes from showrunner Vivian Lin, who developed the story with Morwyn Brebner.
Who Is in the Crew Girl Cast?
Miku Martineau leads Crew Girl as Teagan Tao.
Jessica Paré plays her mother, Ella Emerson-Tao, while Samuel Braun stars as team captain Josh Regis and Kyle Clark plays Cam Dillinger.
Thomas Cadrot plays Coach Matt Hayden, with Riley Davis, Olga Petsa, Connor Wong and other young cast members filling out the world surrounding Easton Prep.
The series consists of eight episodes.
When Is Crew Girl Released on Netflix?
Crew Girl will premiere globally on Netflix on Thursday, September 10, 2026.
That means UK viewers will get the series on the same date as audiences in the U.S. and Canada.
With its combination of prep-school drama, romance and competitive sport, Crew Girl may be set in Massachusetts – but its real-world geography tells a very different story.
From the grand architecture used to create Easton Prep to the waters of Elk/Beaver Lake and the Gorge, the Crew Girl filming locations reveal how Victoria and Vancouver Island were transformed into Netflix’s fictional corner of New England.
What do you think of the Crew Girl filming locations?