Where Was ‘Beauty in Black’ Filmed? All About the Real-Life Shooting Locations

Beauty in Black is set against both the glitz and grit of Chicago — but Tyler Perry‘s hit series is filmed elsewhere.

The Netflix drama, which first premiered in 2024, follows Kimmie (Taylor Polidore Williams), a down-on-her-luck stripper who becomes increasingly entangled in the wealthy family that runs both a respectable beauty brand and the club (and a secret human trafficking operation) she can’t seem to escape from. By the end of the first half of season 2, the dancer’s luck finally starts to turn.

“Kimmie had to be pushed to the absolute edge before she could make the choice to fight back,” Williams told Tudum in September 2025. “Knowing all she endured to get to this limit just shows how much inner strength she had been [suppressing] in order to survive this whole time.”

She continued, “I think a lot of people can relate to that in different ways. There’s always a moment — whether in a relationship, at work, or within ourselves — where we hit a breaking point and say, enough.”

While the show takes place in Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods, the majority of it was shot in another major U.S. city.

So, where is Beauty in Black filmed? Here’s everything to know about the real shooting locations in the hit Tyler Perry series.

Is Beauty in Black filmed in Chicago?

Though the drama series is set in Chicago, it’s not primarily filmed there. However, Perry told Tudum in September 2025 that he was inspired by the Windy City’s history with haircare dynasties.

“The hair-care business here is huge, [and Atlanta club] Magic City is huge, and I was like, ‘What happened if those worlds collided — the stripper world and this hair-care business?’ ” he said, noting that the lesson from Beauty in Black is to “never ever underestimate the power of the underdog.”

Where was Beauty in Black filmed?

In February 2025, FOX 5 Atlanta reported that Beauty in Black was filming in midtown Atlanta. Production crews temporarily shut down an area called Tech Square overnight and reopened the streets by 6 a.m. the following morning.

Filming in Atlanta is fitting, as Perry told Tudum that he was inspired by the “dual strip clubs” that populated the city in the ’90s. His 330-acre film production company, Tyler Perry Studios, is also located in the area on the former grounds of an army base, and provided the set for some indoor scenes.

Perry purchased the site in 2015, making it one of the largest production facilities in the U.S. In addition to 40 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places, Tyler Perry Studios also has 12 sound stages and 200 acres of green space to film projects like Beauty in Black.

Is Magic City a real strip club?

Yes, Magic City is a real strip club in Atlanta. After it opened in 1985, it became a go-to spot for rappers, producers and hip-hop tastemakers like Future and 2 Chainz, per GQ. TMZ reported in 2018 that Drake had an armored truck deliver six figures in cash to Magic City for Future’s birthday party.

Though Perry was inspired by the real-life adult entertainment business, the story of Beauty in Black is entirely fictional. The creator told Tudum that the goal of the series was “to entertain” and that he “wanted to have some fun.”