Tyler Perry filmed in a famous prison and Atlanta's oldest cinema: The filming locations of Netflix's Doing Life
Doing Life
The same prison that hosted Burt Reynolds and actual Georgia inmates in 1974 is now a Tyler Perry set. Georgia State Prison in Reidsville appears in Doing Life as the fictional Holloway State Correctional. The production also filmed at the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon, Atlanta's oldest independent cinema, open since 1939. The rest was built at Tyler Perry Studios.
Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, Doing Life is a gritty urban drama about Anika – a struggling single mother fighting for survival – and a reformed ex-con with untapped talents who forge an unexpected bond while trying to rebuild their lives. A story about survival, second chances and the connection that develops between two people whose circumstances push them together.
Naomi Baker – known for All American: Homecoming – stars as Anika. Jay Reeves – who previously appeared in Perry's The Six Triple Eight – plays the former inmate. The supporting cast includes Tamberla Perry, Karen Obilom, Jasmine Sargent and Danielle Moné Truitt.
The production filmed at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville – at 300 1st Avenue South, near Reidsville, Georgia. Originally opened in 1938 as a maximum-security facility for the Georgia Department of Corrections, its distinctive Art Deco-influenced main building was officially closed by the state in 2022. In Doing Life, the facility is disguised as the fictional Holloway State Correctional.
The prison carries its own cinematic history. Georgia State Prison in Reidsville is most famous as the primary filming location for the classic 1974 sports comedy-drama The Longest Yard starring Burt Reynolds – shot on-site at the active prison in late 1973 with the cooperation of then-Governor Jimmy Carter, actual inmates and staff participating as extras and crew support. It was one of the earliest major motion pictures to utilise Georgia for a large-scale production. More than five decades later, Tyler Perry has returned to the same building – now closed and cleared of its original population – for a film about what happens after someone walks out of a place like this.
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The production also filmed at the historic Plaza Theatre at 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave NE in Atlanta – opened in 1939 and Atlanta's longest continuously operating independent movie theatre. The Art Deco cinema has been a recurring filming location for productions including Watchmen and I Want You Back, its period character and independent spirit making it a natural choice for productions that need an authentic piece of Atlanta history rather than a generic venue. For Doing Life, the Plaza appears as the setting for Anika and Carousel's date.
The remainder of the production was based at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta – the 330-acre former US Army base in southwest Atlanta whose soundstages, standing sets and backlot infrastructure give Perry the ability to construct virtually any urban American environment without leaving the campus.
Doing Life is streaming on Netflix from October 2, 2026.
SOURCE
Netflix // IMDb
CREDITS
© Netflix Studios, Tyler Perry Studios
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