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Kitchener-Waterloo

Cambridge locations used prominently in The Handmaid's Tale

The City of Cambridge sits in for the Republic of Gilead in the TV series The Handmaid's Tale, based on Margaret Atwood's futuristic novel.

City becomes Republic of Gilead in TV series featuring Elisabeth Moss

The Main Street Bridge in Galt, including Queen's Square and the Grand Cafe was used as the backdrop for a riot scene in The Handmaid's Tale. (google streetview)

It has beenFrance, Berlin, Boston and for its latest close-up,the City of Cambridge playsthe Republic of Gilead in the TV series based on the Margaret Atwood novel The Handmaid's Tale now playing in Canada onBravo.

Devon Hogue, the Business Information Officer for the City of Cambridge told CBC News the end production shows off quite a few locations that people living in the region would recognize if they're closely watching the show. That includes the Main Street bridge and the river walk by Mill Street Park, with Central Presbyterian Church off in the distance.

"[In] episode 3, the courtroom scene was actually filmed in our [city] council chambers," said Hogue.

"When they're walking the prisoner out from the building, that was filmed right in front of city hall. Coming up in episode 8 or 9, I believe they've used our market building."

Cambridge City Council chamber is used as a courtroom in an early episode of The Handmaid's Tale (MGM/Hulu)

Click on the map below to see the locationsThe Handmaid's Tale filmed in 2016/2017:

Hogue says she was approached by a location manager working on the MGM/Hulu production who asked for a walking tour of the city to see what Cambridge could offer.

A crew started shooting two weeks after that conversation and the crew returned to the location at least five times shooting in two episode blocks. Hogue saideach episode took about a week of filming.

This scene from The Handmaid's Tale shows a prisoner being escorted from a courthouse. The building is actually Cambridge City Hall. (MGM/Hulu)

Hogue, whose first film project in Cambridge was the James Franco series based on the Stephen King book 11/22/63,said her department is usually approached by location managers who say the want to shoot a scene "by a river or something that looks like 1950s Boston."

"We get approached because of our architecture, our natural and built-in landscapes," said Hogue. "It's so beautiful and historic and in good condition that they can come in and use it."

Cambridge residents can sign up for the latest filming updates as some road closurescould affect their drive around the city.