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Bloodline movie cover Movie Locations Guide

Where was Bloodline filmed?

2015

City Locations

Islamorada, Florida, USA

Location Types

American, Beach/Oceanview, Cabins, Naturescapes, Restaurant

Location Styles

Beachfront, Boat Style, Cabin, Tropical, Sail

About Bloodline

Bloodline is a Netflix original series brought to us by the creators of Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards. The series revolves around the lives of the Rayburn clan and their day-to-day goings on.

We have Ray Rayburn, daddy dearest, and the matriarch with his wife Sally Rayburn, who champions Danny. The siblings, on the other hand, John, Meg, and Kevin don’t share the same sentiment and are cold towards him.

The Rayburns are a wealthy lot, living in the Florida Keys in their stunning beach view home when the family's black sheep, their oldest son Danny, makes an appearance out of the blue after years of estrangement. He’s right on time for the 45th anniversary celebration of his parents.

The whole family is skeptical of his return and wants him to leave but Danny is here to stay for good. He looks like a changed man ready to right the wrongs, and start with a clean slate.

It is later revealed in the series the reason why everyone is cold towards Danny, an accident that still haunts the family to this day. His dysfunctional relationship with his family stems from the death of his younger sister Sarah as his family blames him for her death.

As Danny is forced to leave, he confronts his dad one last time which causes Robert to have mini-strokes, resulting in his untimely death. Danny now has a spot open; he takes Roberts’s place in running the family’s inn. However, not everything is all sunshine and rainbows as Danny is hiding a dangerous secret that could tear the family apart once again.

Follow the lies, deceit, and murder in this dark and corrupt family where you will be left questioning who is right and who is wrong. When blood does not run thicker than water, and a brother murders his own brother, see what a family is reduced to.

Bloodline uncovers all that and much more in this trickery, intrigue, and drama powerhouse. After all, they are not bad people, but they did a bad thing.

Bloodline Locations

Bloodline is family-drama series that takes place in Islamorada, Florida. It was the perfect location to film the lavish and glamorous lives of the Rayburns who have spent their whole life on the keys of Florida where the vast shoreline is surrounded by the ocean on one side and the gulf on the other. During the start of season 1, we are treated to the perfect lives of the Rayburns, who enjoy celebrity status in the local community and throw grand parties and go yachting in the ocean.

The whole scenery is synonymous with Rayburns. The producer Todd A. Kessler described the Florida Keys as “a place not quite like others and the color of the water and being outside. It really feels like paradise and then having this kind of underbelly of what’s going on underneath it”.

The whole series is shot in a hyper-realistic, documentary style, which allows viewers to see the whole actors as real-life characters. Plus, it allows for an immersive experience of the exotic filming location of Bloodline.

After watching the series, we felt compelled to write an article on the best scenes in Bloodline (spoiler alert) and the location where each of these scenes was shot so that you as a fan of the series can easily visit the area and sightsee with your own eyes!

Fun Fact:

The series was shot in the Florida Keys. Due to The Shooting Tax laws of Florida, it was becoming increasingly expensive to keep the season afloat as it took around USD 7 million to make one episode. The high production cost made it impossible to continue filming the series. Because of this, the show was eventually canceled just after 3 seasons.

Inauguration of the Rayburn Pier scene in Bloodline

The Moorings Village and Spa

Ironically it was in this season one scene where we see Robert Raburn make a toast to his wife and children about how good their life has been. They are just celebrating the 45th anniversary of their seaside hotel when Danny, the estranged son returns home.

In this scene, Robert makes a speech in which he says, “I would like to say a few words about my kids, there is Meg, my sunshine. There is Kevin my youngest son and of course, there’s John who takes care of the whole damn Island.”

In this scene, the Rayburn family is about to inaugurate a pier close to the restaurant and dedicate it to Robert and Sally. It is a beautiful location to spend vacations with your loved ones. The pier is very close to the Rayburn House and can be reached by foot. Surround yourself with corals, mangroves, and tons of palm trees!

Danny confesses to his family scene in Bloodline

The Moorings Village and Spa, Florida Keys

Let’s go to season one. John, Meg, and Kevin find out that Danny is smuggling drugs and stashing cocaine in the family’s inn, which he uses as a front. All three siblings discuss and conclude that in order to protect the family business and name from the feds they need to pack up the stash and move it to Danny’s home, which is situated in Miami.

The family thinks if the feds bust the whole plot, Danny is the one going down, not the family or the inn. However, when Lowry the drug dealer finds out that Danny lost his cocaine, he hires a hitman to kill him, who ends up getting killed by Danny instead.

Their mother Sally asks the siblings to sit and have a chat about what is actually going on. Danny confesses that he needed money, so he ended up doing business with some bad guys. Now, he deals and sells drugs and was using the family inn as a warehouse.

It is one of the main scenes of season 1 as Danny finally lets go of the resentment and hate he had for his family when they lied about his abuse during his teenage years. He delivers some chilling lines here, “I never felt safe in this house, and now none of you are safe in this house”.

We clearly see how disturbed Danny still is about his past and that he won’t let go.

This Bloodline film scene takes place in the Rayburn House which in real life is a hotel known as The Moorings Village Spa, right on the beachy shores of the Florida Keys. However, the bad news is that the hotel charges a whooping USD 465 for a night’s stay. And the minimum limit for a stay is only 2 nights! It is a gorgeous place though.

Family watches baseball game scene in Bloodline

Founder’s Park, Islamorada, Florida

After Robert and Danny have a confrontation in season one, Robert has mini heart attacks from which he later recovers. To celebrate his coming back to health, the Rayburn lot attends a baseball game with John’s son, Ben. It is one of the nice scenes before all the ugly truths start rearing their heads and tearing apart the family.

Also, in episode 8 a party is held on the same ground where Marco proposes to Meg.

Founders Park is a huge recreational area that includes baseball diamonds, a tennis court, soccer fields, Olympic-sized pools, a golf driving net, and a small beach! It is the perfect beach-club resort that offers ultimate luxuries to its guests! Whenever you visit Islamorada, be sure to see Founders Park.

Danny takes guests snorkeling scene in Bloodline

John Pennekamp National State Park, Florida, USA.

Danny is trying to get in his mother’s good graces. We see him managing the family inn remarkably well. He takes responsibility after the death of his father. While trying to project a good image, he takes the guests snorkeling and exploring on the family boat.

This was one of those scenes where we might think that Danny has some redeeming qualities but they are later on shattered!

The place he takes them to sightsee is a gorgeous underwater piece of paradise that can be easily visited by tourists. We see him take these guests to the iconic and famous ‘Christ of the Abyss’ statue which is situated underwater deep in the sea, Key Largo. It is situated 25 feet deep off the coast of Key Largo and is surrounded by stunning wildlife and corals.

The state park where the statue was lowered is one of the first underwater state parks in the USA. Whenever you visit the Bloodline filming locations visit this statue as well, and don’t forget to have your photo taken! Set a guided trip with local guides and visit soon!

Danny meets the drug dealers scene in Bloodline

Caribbean Club, Mile Marker 104, Bayside

This scene takes place in Caribbean Club, Key Largo. Many scenes were filmed in this club as the Rayburn Family frequented the club often for drinks and a game of pool. It also served as the meeting spot for Danny and his cohorts Eric O’Bannon and Rafi Quintana where they planned the hiding and selling of their cocaine. It is in the same bar where Danny meets up with Meg and has a pool game with Chelsea.

Caribbean Club is a bayfront bar that proudly displays a signboard that says ‘where the famous movie Key Largo was built’. However, the claim remains untrue as the director simply drew inspiration from the place. The film starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

You can easily visit Caribbean Club for a nice dinner and beer. It is one of the oldest bars in the Upper Keys. We suggest that you visit on Tuesdays when they host Key Largo’s lively Trivia contest!

John kills Danny scene in Bloodline

Long Key State Park, Layton, Florida

Season 1 ends with a bang after all the twists and turns. The drama finally boils down to the rift between Danny and John, who have a deep-seated silent animosity toward each other.

In this scene, we see John confront Danny, he warns Danny of the looming DEA investigation and tries to ask about the cryptic threat Danny made to his daughter.

Earlier in the scene, Danny gave a seahorse necklace to John’s daughter while they went sailing. It was the same necklace worn by Sarah, the dead sibling. John loses it when he sees the seahorse necklace. Just as Danny turns to leave John grabs a wooden log and hits Danny. They both go tumbling down and start sparring. John keeps on yelling, “When is it going to end” to which Danny simply laughs manically knowing that he had succeeded in shattering the façade of John’s perfect life once and for all.

The thousand-yard stare of John when he's sitting on the beach and Danny's body lying face down in 6 inches of water was so brutal. Finally, the sibling rivalry came to an end, but at what cost!

The family now is truly shattered, as John comes to grips with the fact that he killed his brother. This scene was painful to watch. While some might disagree and say Danny got what he deserved, what we think is that they should not have killed him so early on.

Danny was the only character with a good arc and was the backbone of the series. Killing him so early just did not make sense.

This major Bloodline action scene takes place on the isolated strip of sand that belongs to Long Key State Park in real life. It is a 980-acre beach park that has all the amenities to make your visit memorable. They offer swimming, fishing, and snorkeling, as well as a paddling trail through coastal lagoons!

Conclusion

Bloodline started off strongly right from season 1. It promised a great story, plotline, and characters that showed potential. In fact, season 1 received high positive reviews from critics and was well-liked by the audience. It was seasons 2 and 3 that led to the show’s downfall. The director killed off Danny pretty early in the first season. Fans were disappointed and the story took a dive as well. The show was later canceled due to budget reasons.

However, Bloodline fans know that the season no matter how short featured outstanding performances from all actors and still is one of the best short seasons aired on Netflix!