Best of the Best filming locations below!
Netflix is bringing the colourful, fiercely competitive world of collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance to the screen in Best of the Best, a new coming-of-age comedy starring Never Have I Ever‘s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia.
Set against the backdrop of college life in Los Angeles, the film follows childhood best friends Maya (Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Kedia) as they join UCLA’s competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team. Their mission to reach the U.S. Championship soon proves far more intense – and cutthroat – than either expected.
But despite its unmistakably Californian setting, the real Best of the Best filming locations are on the opposite side of the country.
Where Was Best of the Best Filmed?
Best of the Best filming locations are in New Jersey, standing in for the movie’s Los Angeles and UCLA setting.
Production reportedly took place in the state between July 28 and September 11, 2025, meaning the cast and crew spent around six weeks filming on the East Coast rather than at the real University of California, Los Angeles campus.
Netflix itself identifies Los Angeles and UCLA as the movie’s setting, making New Jersey’s transformation into Southern California one of the more interesting details of the production.
Specific New Jersey locations used for the production have not yet been officially detailed by Netflix. As more filming details emerge ahead of the movie’s September release, we’ll update this guide with the campuses, dance venues, and other locations that doubled as UCLA.
Is Best of the Best Really Set at UCLA?
Yes. Although filming took place in New Jersey, UCLA is central to the story.
Maya and Anjali are childhood best friends beginning college and competing as members of UCLA’s Bollywood-fusion dance team, with the competition providing the backdrop for a story about friendship, ambition, and growing apart.
The movie draws inspiration from the real world of collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance, a competitive scene that has become an important cultural and social space for South Asian students at universities across the United States.
The Dance Scenes Were a Major Part of Production
The elaborate dance sequences required months of preparation before cameras rolled.
Ramakrishnan and Kedia underwent approximately four months of dance training, with Kedia describing a schedule that included four or five classes a day and 40-hour training weeks.
Director Lena Khan worked with choreographers Phillip Chbeeb, Makenzie Dustman and Joya Kazi to give each dance sequence its own identity. Some were particularly ambitious: Khan revealed to Cosmopolitan that the production even built a mountain on a soundstage for one sequence.
What Is Best of the Best About?
At its heart, Best of the Best is as much about female friendship as dance.
Maya and Anjali have grown up as both best friends and dance partners, but their relationship begins to change when they arrive at college. While navigating classes, family expectations, and the pressures of competitive dance, the pair find themselves growing in different directions.
The film is directed by Lena Khan, who previously directed Ramakrishnan in Never Have I Ever. Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam wrote the screenplay and also serve as producers.
Alongside Ramakrishnan and Kedia, the ensemble includes Ankur Rathee, Janina Gavankar, Chaneil Kular, Becky Alex, Shreya Navile, Nihar Duvvuri, Nico Greetham, Lilly Singh, Saara Chaudry and Minhaj.
When Does Best of the Best Come Out on Netflix?
Best of the Best premieres globally on Netflix on September 18, 2026.
What do you think of the Best of the Best filming locations?