Why TV Moved Its Crime Bosses to Modesto and Oceanside

In Search of Grittier Settings, Hollywood Embraces California's Metropolitan Edges

At first glance, the setting for Hollywood’s newest gangland drama might be jarring: northern San Diego County, in the small city of Oceanside.

But you really shouldn’t be surprised, at least by the location, if you decide to check out the Turner Network Television’s Animal Kingdom, about a violent crime family headed by a very scary and sun-bleached Ellen Barkin. Oceanside is exactly what Hollywood is looking for in California these days—and not just because a gangsters-by-the-sea story makes it so easy to mix TV’s favorite forms of titillation: attractive people …