Bloodline

Bloodline is an American psychological thriller television series created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, released on Netflix between 2015 and 2017. Set in the Florida Keys, the series follows the Rayburn family, whose successful waterfront hotel conceals a history of resentment, abuse and unresolved tragedy. Kyle Chandler stars as John Rayburn, a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy, alongside Ben Mendelsohn as his troubled older brother Danny, Linda Cardellini as their sister Meg and Norbert Leo Butz as their younger brother Kevin. Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek play their parents, Robert and Sally Rayburn. When Danny returns home for a family celebration, his presence gradually exposes secrets that threaten to destroy the family’s reputation and relationships.

Bloodline (2015–2017) was filmed primarily in Islamorada and the surrounding Florida Keys, with additional filming in Key Largo, Tavernier, Homestead and Miami Beach. All three seasons were produced in South Florida, beginning in 2014, with much of the exterior photography taking place at actual resorts, restaurants, marinas and residential properties along the Overseas Highway. The Moorings Village in Islamorada served as the fictional Rayburn House Inn, while other important locations included Coral Bay Marina, Robbie’s Marina, Anne’s Beach, Long Key State Park and several established waterfront bars. Some interior sets were constructed in a production facility in Homestead on the Florida mainland, allowing the series to combine genuine Keys locations with purpose-built interiors.

The most recognisable location is The Moorings Village at 123 Beach Road in Islamorada, which became the Rayburn family’s waterfront hotel. The resort occupies a former coconut plantation overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, with a collection of cottages surrounded by hundreds of palm trees and landscaped gardens. Its largest residence, known as the Blue Charlotte House, was used as the main Rayburn family home. The two-storey building, with its pale blue exterior, white verandas and broad lawns leading towards the beach, appears throughout the series. The property is introduced in the first episode when Danny returns for a celebration honouring his parents and the long-established family business. The house, its surrounding grounds, swimming pool and beachfront provide the setting for numerous family gatherings, conversations and confrontations during all three seasons.

Much of the filming at The Moorings took place inside the real property, although some interiors were recreated elsewhere. Production designer Scott P. Murphy explained that the existing study and living room were extensively redecorated for the series, while the second-floor rooms were also used for filming. The kitchen, however, was too small for the scenes the producers wanted to stage, so a larger version was constructed on a soundstage. This recreated kitchen became one of the family’s principal meeting places, appearing during breakfasts, conversations and arguments involving the Rayburn siblings and their parents. The production also built other interiors, including parts of John’s home and the sheriff’s department offices. The location photography and studio sets were designed to appear as parts of the same buildings.

The series establishes its Florida Keys setting immediately, with an aerial view of a bus travelling along the Overseas Highway. The opening footage was filmed near Cross Key and Key Largo, where U.S. Route 1 crosses a series of islands and waterways on its journey south. Danny returns to the Keys by bus and makes a stop at Alabama Jack’s, a waterfront bar at 58000 Card Sound Road near the mainland. In the first episode, he complains about the grouper sandwich he has been served before continuing towards Islamorada. The restaurant, which opened in 1947, stands beside a mangrove-lined creek on Card Sound Road, an alternative route into the Upper Keys. The production used the existing open-sided building and its waterside dining area.

Robbie’s Marina at mile marker 77.5 in Islamorada appears during Danny’s return to the community. In the first episode, he meets his childhood friend Eric O’Bannon (Jamie McShane) on the docks, where the two smoke marijuana and begin discussing Danny’s troubled relationship with his family. The marina’s wooden walkways, fishing boats and waterfront structures are visible around them. The location returns later in the season, including “Part 11”, when John begins a frantic search on the water for his missing daughter Jane. The production used Robbie’s real marina facilities and surrounding waterways, including the docks normally associated with its fishing and boat-tour operations.

Another important location is Coral Bay Marina at 601 Mastic Street in Islamorada, which became Indian Key Channel Marina, the boatyard operated by Kevin Rayburn. The property contains boat slips, repair facilities, workshops and waterfront structures, all of which appear repeatedly throughout the first season. Kevin works here repairing and maintaining vessels, while the marina also becomes his temporary home during his separation from his wife Belle (Katie Finneran). Several scenes involve Kevin working on boats, meeting his siblings or reacting to the increasingly dangerous situation surrounding Danny. The production used the existing boatyard rather than building a complete marina set, allowing the characters to move among actual vessels and working repair facilities.

Kevin and Belle’s family home was another real residential property in Islamorada, situated on Palm Lane near Founders Park. The white cottage-style house, built in 1996, has a wraparound veranda, pitched metal roof and landscaped garden. It appears as their home during the series, including the domestic scenes dealing with their marriage and Kevin’s increasingly unstable behaviour. The property belonged to Matt and Debbie Pribyl, who were renovating it when a location scout arrived in 2014. According to the owners, the crew initially became interested in the property because the construction work made it appear unusually neglected. After learning about the renovation, the filmmakers decided to use it as Kevin and Belle’s residence instead. The owners temporarily moved into a motel during filming, while the production periodically replaced the furnishings and decoration to suit the characters.

The Caribbean Club at mile marker 104 in Key Largo was used for several scenes involving Danny and Eric O’Bannon. Established in 1938, the waterfront bar has a long association with the history of the Upper Keys and was previously known as a gambling and drinking establishment. In Bloodline, its interior appears during conversations between Danny, Eric and Chelsea O’Bannon (Chloë Sevigny), with the bar counter, pool table and surrounding furnishings visible. In “Part 8”, Danny and Eric meet drug smuggler Rafi Quintana (Gino Vento) at the bar as Danny becomes more deeply involved in Wayne Lowry’s criminal operation. The Caribbean Club’s exterior sign also appears during nighttime scenes, including shots involving John Rayburn.

Another recurring bar was the Ocean View Pub & Inn, commonly known as the OV, at mile marker 84.5 in Islamorada. In the first episode, Danny meets Eric here and the two use cocaine while discussing the Rayburn family. Eric becomes increasingly angry as he accuses Danny’s relatives of mistreating him, eventually provoking a confrontation that ends with Danny overturning a table. The production filmed inside the actual bar, incorporating its tropical decoration and informal seating areas. The adjoining property also supplied a waterfront boardwalk used in “Part 3”, when Meg and Kevin discuss their father’s will following his stroke. The wooden walkway, historically known as Captain Larry’s Trail, extends through the mangroves towards Florida Bay.

The Whistle Stop Bar & Grill at mile marker 82.7 in Islamorada also appears throughout the first season. In “Part 5”, Kevin visits the bar after separating from Belle, removes his wedding ring and repeatedly announces that he is free. Another scene in “Part 6” shows Danny drinking heavily and taking drugs before provoking a much larger customer by mocking his choice of drink. The confrontation ends with Danny being beaten. The Whistle Stop’s real bar interior, pool table and surrounding furnishings were used for the scenes, retaining the appearance of a small local establishment rather than a reconstructed television set.

Several restaurants around Islamorada were used for conversations involving the Rayburn siblings and their associates. Mangrove Mike’s Café at mile marker 82.2 appears in “Part 5”, when Danny meets Chelsea for breakfast. He complains that his eggs are overcooked, but the meeting ends abruptly when he notices Detective Lenny Potts (Frank Hoyt Taylor), an investigator connected with his past. The café’s exterior also appears as Meg speaks with her former lover Alec over the telephone. The restaurant’s distinctive entrance and the large model shark outside make the building identifiable in the street footage.

Marker 88, a waterfront restaurant at mile marker 88 in Islamorada, was used for one of the first season’s most important confrontations between Robert and Danny. In “Part 4”, Robert meets his eldest son at one of the restaurant’s open-air tables overlooking Florida Bay and offers him money to leave the Keys. The conversation reveals how unwilling Robert is to accept Danny’s return and how determined he is to preserve the family’s public reputation. The scene was filmed in the actual beachfront dining area, with its small cabanas and shallow coastal waters forming the background. The restaurant’s long wooden pier also appears in the series.

Founders Park, a large public recreation area at mile marker 87 in Islamorada, appears in two separate family sequences during the first season. In “Part 4”, the Rayburns attend a baseball game involving John’s son Ben after Robert has recovered from his stroke. The scene was filmed on one of the park’s actual baseball diamonds, with the family watching from beside the playing field. In “Part 8”, the park’s beach becomes the setting for a gathering during which Marco Diaz (Enrique Murciano) proposes marriage to Meg. The proposal takes place beside the water, with the park’s beach and surrounding recreational grounds visible. These scenes were filmed in different parts of the same public facility.

Meg’s legal career also provided several filming locations in the Upper Keys. Her office was filmed at the law firm of Hershoff, Lupino & Yagel near mile marker 90.1 in Tavernier. In “Part 3”, Meg arrives to find that her office has been filled with flowers sent by people concerned about Robert’s stroke. The production used the actual office of local attorney Robert Stober, incorporating the existing furnishings and workspace into the scene. Another legal and government setting was the Murray E. Nelson Government & Cultural Center at mile marker 102 in Key Largo, which represented the Plantation Key Government Center. In “Part 6”, Meg unexpectedly encounters Alec outside the building after attempting to end their affair.

Green Turtle Inn at mile marker 81.2 in Islamorada was used for a confrontation between Meg and Marco. In “Part 10”, Meg admits to having been unfaithful before their engagement, forcing Marco to reconsider their relationship. The scene was filmed inside the real restaurant, an established Islamorada business whose origins date to the late 1920s. Its historic roadside sign, bearing the names Sid and Roxie, survives from an earlier period of the restaurant’s history, although the building itself was reconstructed in 2007.

Another location connected with the drug-smuggling investigation is the Tackle Center of Islamorada, near mile marker 81.9. The fishing equipment shop, recognisable by the large marlin mounted above its entrance, became the legitimate business used as a front by criminal organiser Wayne Lowry (Glenn Morshower). The production altered its signage for the series while retaining the shop’s existing exterior. Lowry also meets Danny at Jacobs Aquatic Center, 320 Laguna Avenue in Key Largo, during “Part 10”. Their conversation takes place beside the public swimming pool, where Lowry discusses his children while continuing to involve Danny in his criminal activities.

Several other small businesses were incorporated into the smuggling storyline. Sunrise Cuban Café & Market in Tavernier appears in “Part 6”, when Meg meets Carlos, a former Rayburn House employee, to discuss his criminal case. John later visits the same business while investigating the trafficking operation. The production used its existing dining area and takeaway counter, including the service window facing the street. A PostNet shipping store in Plaza 88, Islamorada, became the fictional Post N Mail, where Danny repeatedly sends envelopes of money to his Miami apartment. The Marlin gas station at mile marker 88.6 was also used for a drug-related exchange involving Carlos in “Part 9”.

The wider criminal investigation takes the story north towards Key Largo and Jewfish Creek Bridge, which carries the Overseas Highway across the waterways connecting the Keys to the mainland. In “Part 4”, the body of a young woman who was aboard a smuggling boat destroyed by fire is discovered near the bridge. The underside of the structure and its surrounding mangrove-lined waters appear as investigators examine the scene. The bridge returns in “Part 10”, when Rafi Quintana tells Danny that Wayne Lowry ordered the destruction of the boat. The existing bridge and shoreline provided the setting for these conversations, using a recognisable part of the highway network rather than a constructed waterfront location.

The series also uses several identifiable beaches and offshore locations. Anne’s Beach, on Lower Matecumbe Key near mile marker 73.5, appears during Robert Rayburn’s kayaking trips. In “Part 2”, Robert encounters Danny while paddling in the shallow coastal waters and subsequently suffers a stroke as he moves away from his son. The scene was filmed on the actual beach, with its narrow shoreline, calm Atlantic waters and surrounding vegetation visible. In “Part 3”, Danny takes guests from the Rayburn House on a snorkelling excursion to the Christ of the Abyss underwater statue off Key Largo. The bronze figure, installed in 1965, stands beneath the water with its arms extended upwards and is a well-known diving landmark within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The most consequential first-season location is Long Key State Park, near mile marker 67.4, where John and Danny’s deteriorating relationship reaches its violent conclusion. In “Part 12”, John meets his brother on an isolated stretch of shoreline after learning that Danny has given his daughter Jane a seahorse necklace associated with their deceased sister Sarah. The confrontation escalates when John strikes Danny, and the brothers fight in the shallow water. John eventually drowns Danny, leaving his body near the shoreline as he struggles to comprehend what he has done. The production used the park’s actual coastal landscape, with its mangroves, shallow water and exposed sandy ground, for one of the series’ defining scenes.

The aftermath also involves Indian Key Historic State Park, a small island off Islamorada that contains the remains of a nineteenth-century settlement. In “Part 13”, John sets fire to a boat near the island while attempting to conceal evidence connected with Danny’s death. He jumps into the water as the vessel explodes, with the surrounding island and Florida Bay visible in the sequence. Indian Key was once a busy wreck-salvaging settlement and briefly served as the county seat of Dade County, but much of the original community was destroyed during an attack in 1840. The filmmakers used the surviving natural shoreline and surrounding waterways, rather than recreating a separate island location.

Although the Florida Keys dominate the series, filming also took place on the mainland. The failed restaurant venture associated with Danny’s earlier life, Viva Caputa, was represented by a commercial building at 1555 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. In addition, several major interior sets were constructed in a large warehouse production facility in Homestead, south of Miami. These included rooms within the Rayburn family home that could not be filmed conveniently at The Moorings, together with interiors used for the law enforcement and residential scenes. The mainland studio work was combined with exterior footage from Islamorada and the surrounding islands, allowing the production to retain the geographical continuity of its Florida Keys setting throughout the three seasons.

---