Why Apple TV's Pluribus Is Set In Albuquerque

Vince Gilligan originally intended for "Breaking Bad" to be set in Riverside, California but pivoted to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take advantage of the state's generous tax breaks for TV and film production. It made sense for the prequel series "Better Call Saul" return to Albuquerque to maintain continuity. 

For his latest project, "Pluribus," Gilligan's heart and head pointed him back to this desert city along the Sandia Mountains. After producing 125 episodes, webisodes, and a feature-length film for the "Breaking Bad" franchise (we have some tips on how to watch it all) in Albuquerque, Gilligan had assembled a cohort of talented and trustworthy collaborators who handled everything from set decoration and lighting to catering and transportation. On an episode of The Ringer's The Watch podcast, co-host Chris Ryan asked Gilligan if Albuquerque felt like "your home turf now."

"I do love New Mexico," Gilligan admitted. "I love Albuquerque, and the desert, and the environs around Albuquerque." He acknowledged that "Pluribus" could have been set in any mid-sized American city, but said having a trusted production team already in and around New Mexico's biggest city made it a clear best choice. "We have a wonderful crew there that feels to me like family," he said. "And I wanted to keep working with them. It was as simple as that." It's a choice that helped make "Pluribus" worth the wait.

"I wanted to keep working with my same old crew," Vince Gilligan continued to tell The Watch. "They're some of the best people I've ever worked with ... and I wanted to do my part to keep them working and I wanted to continue — selfishly — to work with them." He noted that fans of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" already appreciate the work of location manager Christian Diaz de Bedoya, who also served in that capacity on "Poker Face" and "Pulse" before rejoining Gilligan's Albuquerque posse for "Pluribus." 

"He and his scouts find us amazing places every episode," Gilligan noted. The Sandia Mountains are an obvious scenic through-point connecting Gilligan's projects, but Gilligan indicated that fans should keep on the lookout for other Albuquerque landmarks as "Pluribus" continues.

 Apple TV has already renewed the series for a second season, while Gilligan says he felt the need to bring a fresh story to his Albuquerque universe. "We live in a world of IP, where the safest thing to do is reboot something that has an audience," he told Variety. "I wanted to prove to myself I wasn't a one-trick pony. It's harder than it's ever been to get something made that's not based on a previous movie or comic book or video game. Every generation deserves its own stories, instead of just the stories of their grandparents." That's definitely a sentiment that echoes in the show itself, down to important lines that highlight what the show is really about: human originality.