Controversial TV series filmed in a cleared Toronto tent encampment debuts

A new television series made headlines for all the wrong reasons this summer, taking heat from the community and broader Twitterverse for shooting scenes in a Toronto homeless encampment that police had just evicted.

The encampment eviction at Alexandra Park at Dundas and Bathurst, specifically police actions, faced heavy criticism.

The operation's timing was called into question when film crews arrived just days later to shoot scenes for a new FX Disney+ series titled Y: The Last Man.

Two days after the City cleared a homeless encampment at Alexandra Park, production for Y: The Last Man is filming at community centre. Fencing blocks off most of the park. City spokesperson says the encampment was not cleared to make way for filming @CityNews @680NEWS pic.twitter.com/qF8VqJImbi

— Michelle Mackey (@michellemackey) July 22, 2021

Based on a graphic novel, the series — named for the Y-chromosome — follows a mysterious plague that suddenly kills off all but one of the male-born population, sparing women and trans men.

The shoot in question involved scenes at the park and adjacent Scadding Court Community Centre, though the series' debut earlier this month is revealing plenty of other less-contentious Toronto locations.

As usual, Toronto is not playing itself, instead masquerading as New York City along with supporting roles, including San Francisco.

Our tax incentives and low filming costs give movie producers a budget option over the real thing, giving Toronto regular on-screen appearances disguised as U.S. locations.

If you don't live in either New York or Toronto, the establishing shots of landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and One World Trade might be enough to fool you. But for us locals, there are plenty of familiar locations that will immediately be recognized as shot right here in Toronto.

Even just the trailer is jam-packed with landmarks, including the Toronto Reference Library, Commerce Court North and an apocalyptic Jordan Street in the Financial District, the pedestrian bridges over a militarized Simcoe Street behind the Canada Life Building, and the storage spaces below the Gardiner Expressway.