The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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The show's third season dealt with homicide, homosexuality, sexual abuse and the deportation of one character's immigrant family. The episodes had yet to drop when Netflix announced a fourth run, which the streamer also said would also be the last, culminating with the characters' graduation from Liberty High. "That felt like the logical ending point," Yorkey told Entertainment Weekly before the final launch. "We wanted to end the series hopefully, but we wanted it to be earned hope." One of the climactic plot points in the final season, Liberty High's prom, was also one of the most logistically taxing shoots of the whole series. The event was filmed over five consecutive days inside Oakland's historic 16th Street train station. The 1912 beaux arts structure was abandoned for the better part of a century and is still in the process of being restored. Its derelict exterior had already doubled for the scene of a homeless encampment in Season 2. Before the crew could prep the site, which has no power or water supply, the station had to undergo environmental assessments, hazmat abatement and structural inspections, as well as engineering and construction work to reinforce the main entrance and the rigging system for heavy chandeliers inside. "The interior is gorgeous but it sits on a pile of dirt where the drainage wasn't quite right, and it poured for the week and a half we were there," Haecker said. "All we did for days was abate water." A covered tunnel with raised platforms was hastily built so the cast could get to set without drenching their finery. "We had contractors with sump pumps drain parts of the set that began to flood," said Daniel Branson/LMGI, who started on the first season as a location PA and was promoted to ALM. "Our background tents flooded faster than we could push water out, our walkway completely flooded, we had PAs making sandbags as quickly as possible to provide some assistance. But we made it through." By that point, the Location Department was well versed in managing disasters. During every season except the first, production was halted by wildfires that devastated parts of Northern California and the cast and crew had to evacuate or relocate. At one point, Analy High School was converted to an emergency shelter and the crew joined relief efforts. "They fed 250 people who showed up at the shelter," said Bruneman, who got emotional when she added that the production also donated thousands of dollars' worth of supplies for the community. She referred to the location team she worked closely with as friends. "It's bittersweet to be honest because for four years these people impacted my life and now they're gone," she said. "The cast was great but the true heroes of the show were the people working behind the scenes, those are the people I'll remember forever." Yorkey believes that the challenges the Location Department faced on 13 Reasons Why made the final product better. "The limitations force you to be creative, and to tell the truest story you can inside what's possible," he said. "Nancy Haecker is a f***ing rock star. Period. As are Jeremy and [art director] Natalie [Weinmann]. Nancy never ever said no. She also never promised what she couldn't deliver. And at the end of the day, she always delivered. She found solutions, always, and good ones. The look and world of the show are among the things I'm most proud of—and Nancy, Dan and our ass-kicking location team made it happen." Tony (Christian Navarro) & Justin (Brandon Flynn) at Padilla's garage. Photo by David Moir, courtesy of Netflix Left: Mare Island North Pier. Photo by Ehrin Davis/LMGI Above: Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice) at the pier. Photo by David Moir, courtesy of Netflix