Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old young woman, is the protagonist of The Gabby Petito Story, a crime drama that airs on Lifetime. Gabby and her fiancé Brian Laundrie plan a road trip across the country.
Once they started spending time together, Gabby’s sweet friendship quickly turned into a living nightmare for her because of the tensions that developed between them. Directed by Thora Birch, the film follows the horrific turn of events that rewrites Gabby’s future when she learns her fiancé is not who she thought he was. These events occur when Gabby discovers that her fiancé is not who she thought he was.
The plot of the film revolves around a road trip, so of course it visits a number of interesting places along the way. The journey Gabby and Laundrie take in the film takes them all the way from New York to Wyoming. But where exactly did you shoot the film? Let’s be the ones who provide the solutions!
Also Read: The Story of Gabby Petito: Is the Lifetime New Movie Based on a Real Event?
Filming locations for “The Gabby Petito Story”
The entire The Gabby Petito Story was filmed in the US state of Utah, specifically in the cities of Salt Lake City and Moab. The film was directed by Eitan Almagor and shot in the summer of 2022. The shooting of the film took place. Although significant parts of the story take place in Wyoming, one of the surrounding states of Utah, most of the film was shot in Utah, often known as the “Beehive State”. Now that we have the big picture, let’s dive into the ins and outs of the place.
Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Utah
Salt Lake City, the state capital and the most populous city in Utah, served as the primary filming location for most of the production of The Gabby Petito Story. The beautiful city lies in a mountain valley surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, the Wasatch Mountains to the east and north. Both Skyler Samuels, who portrays Gabby, and Evan Hall, who plays Laundrie, were spotted near the mountains in the Salt Lake City area in June 2022. Another key filming location for the film was a neighborhood called Canyon Cove, which is located in the city of Holladay, about 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the capital city of Salt Lake.
Big Cottonwood Canyon, located 12 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, serves as a stand-in for a number of sequences taking place in Wyoming. In fact, Grand Teton National Park in the state of Wyoming was both a tragic and significant stop on Gabby and Laundrie’s cross-country road trip. Big Cottonwood Canyon was likely chosen by Director Birch to replace the national park due to the comparable appeal of the two locations due to the presence of mountains and water sources. Salt Lake City has been the location of filming for a number of different productions throughout its history. Some of these are The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Love in the Limelight, Dream Home Makeover, The Christmas Bow, and others.
Moab, Utah
Moab, the largest city in Grand County, Utah and also the county seat of that county, appears to be another location in the film. After receiving a report of an altercation between the two, Moab Police officers stopped at the actual Gabby and Laundrie so they could investigate the situation. For the film, Birch had reproduced footage from police bodycams reportedly filmed in the same city. The city has served as the backdrop for a number of critically acclaimed films and television shows, including Westworld, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mission: Impossible, and more.
Also Read: Love After Lockup Cast Branwin and Chazz’s Relationship Explored
The Cast of The Gabby Petito Story
Gabby is portrayed by Skyler Samuels, best known for her work on The Gifted as Esme Frost, Sophie Frost and Phoebe Frost. In addition to American Horror Story, Switched Before Birth and The Nine Lives of Chloe King, the actress has also appeared in a number of other television shows. Evan Hall, best known for his role as CO Stratman on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, takes on the role of Brian Laundrie, Gabby’s fiancé. Nichole Schmidt, Gabby’s mother, is played by the film’s director, Thora Birch, who also has the role.
Gabby’s father, Joe Petito, is portrayed on the series by Douglas Taurel. Monica Moore Smith who plays Rose, Matisha Baldwin who plays Agent Shaw, Samuel Whitten who plays Jim Schmidt, Stacey Ann Turner who plays Tara Petito, Cathy Tidwell who plays Brian Laundrie’s mother and Nikki SooHoo are some of the other actors in the cast (Miranda).
When will the next episode of The Gabby Petito Story air?
The all-new true-crime film makes its Lifetime debut on Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
There will be reruns of the film on Saturday, October 1 at 11:05 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) and again on Sunday, October 2 at 2 p.m. ET.
The documentary The Gabby Petito Story is currently available to watch online via streaming services including fuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, VidGo, YoutubeTV and Frndly TV.
You can watch the channel online for free at WatchHallmarkTV.com if you already have a Hallmark Channel cable subscription.
“The Story of Gabby Petito”: Plot
The Gabby Petito Story explores the turbulent relationship that existed between Gabby and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, as well as what may have gone wrong on their road trip across the country, ultimately leading to Gabby’s untimely death.
After Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old travel blogger, failed to return home after her cross-country “Van-Life” trip with fiancé Brian Laundrie, her parents reported her missing in September 2021. This sparked a nationwide search for Gabby Petito, which caught the attention of the United States and led to the launch of an investigation into her disappearance.
The non-stop news coverage led to amateur detectives scouring Gabby’s social media posts for clues as to what happened to her during her trip, which eventually led to her being found dead in Wyoming.
The film will bring Gabby and Brian’s doomed love story to life, including the warning signs that Gabby’s life was in danger, the subsequent search for her, the ultimate discovery of her murder and finally Brian’s suicide as a horrific death approaches their one year anniversary .
READ ALSO: Meet The Cast Of Bachelor In Paradise 2022 Season 8: Check Out Contestants’ Instagrams, Michael Allio & More