Written by on Aug 8, 2013. Posted in Incentive News

Breaking Bad creator reveals New Mexico filming incentives prompted location shift

Television crime drama Breaking Bad was originally set in California but New Mexico’s filming incentives prompted a script change, series creator Vince Gilligan has revealed. The show is coming to an end but inspired an increase in the state’s TV filming incentive.

“All the wonderful topographical and geographical elements [of Albuquerque] we put to good use in the show,” Gilligan told the New York Times: “[The clouds] allow you to perceive the immense size of the sky. They go on forever some days.

“Quite a few of the scenes that seem truly in the middle of nowhere, where (main character) Walt is having a clandestine meeting or cooking meth in an RV, if we swung the camera a few degrees to the left or right, you’d see Albuquerque Studios, or Q Studios, this enormous soundstage where we shot. It’s amazing how close to town you can be in Albuquerque and still get amazing cinematic visual desolation.”

Over five seasons Breaking Bad has put Albuquerque firmly on the TV production map and has boosted local film tourism. In early 2013, the show drove an increase in the state’s TV filming incentive to 30% of eligible expenditure.

It’s amazing how close to town you can be in Albuquerque and still get amazing cinematic visual desolation.

Vince Gilligan, Creator of Breaking Bad

The New Mexico Film Office has announced Albuquerque will shortly be hosting new ensemble TV show The Night Shift. Produced by NBC and Sony Pictures Television, the series will double the city for Texas to tell the story of a group of ex-Army doctors tackling bureaucracy in a San Antonio hospital.