Young adult dramas are having a moment, and the latest entry in the genre is putting a specific corner of Canada on the map. Sterling Point, now streaming on Prime Video, follows Annie (Ella Rubin) and her brother Connor (Keen Ruffalo) after they inherit a remote island in Ontario’s Muskoka region from a grandfather they never knew existed. The series was filmed on location in the Lake Muskoka area between June and October, and it leans hard into the region’s natural beauty as the backdrop for Annie’s summer of discovery.
A Setting That Refuses to Be Replaced
Some productions swap their supposed setting for a cheaper or more convenient location, but that wasn’t the case here. Creator, director, and co-showrunner Megan Park said the team wanted to show Muskoka for what it actually is. “We had the opportunity in this show to really showcase Muskoka for Muskoka, and what’s actually happening in that area,” she said.
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The production notes dig into that history, including the dispossession of Indigenous land, longtime cottage owners with generational ties, and newer arrivals building multimillion-dollar homes. Executive producer Dani Gorin explained that the contrast between New York, where Annie comes from, and the natural world of Muskoka was intentional from the start. “You have the juxtaposition with New York, where Annie comes from, and this wild, beautiful natural world, and those two environments were always meant to live in stark contrast,” he said. That tension between old and new, local and outsider, is part of what drives the show’s story. It’s not just scenery — it’s the point.
Where the Series Was Actually Shot
Two specific locations stand out across the eight episodes. Mortimer’s Marina on Lake Muskoka appears in the series, a working marina that offers boat services, winter storage, and an on-site café serving smoothies, coffees, and ice cream during the summer months. It’s the kind of place that feels lived-in rather than dressed up for cameras.
The other notable spot is Sparrow Lake Camp, which has operated as a summer camp since 1912. The site’s history goes back much further than that — Indigenous Canadians settled there centuries ago, and later the Massey family used the area as a holiday resort. Those layers of history mirror the show’s own interest in who gets to claim a place as home.
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Director of photography Kristen Correll, who worked with Park on her two features, handled the water shots. Gorin noted that shooting on the lake required patience and skill. “It was about photographing the place honestly,” he said, adding that Correll “knew how to shoot on the water.” The show’s decision to film in the actual Muskoka region rather than a stand-in location gives it a specific texture that’s hard to fake. The light, the water, the pine trees — they’re all real, and they all carry weight.
For viewers who know the area, spotting familiar spots might be part of the fun. For everyone else, the series works as a visual argument for a Canadian summer spent on the water. The show’s focus on class divides and gentrification adds a layer of tension beneath the picturesque surface. Sterling Point is available to stream on Prime Video now.
