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| Where Was Netflix’s ‘The Boroughs’ Filmed? Every Stunning 2026 Shooting Location Revealed. (Credits: Netflix) |
Netflix’s ‘The Boroughs’ may be packed with eerie creatures, tense late-night scenes and residents acting suspiciously calm for people living in what is basically a retirement community from hell, but viewers have become equally obsessed with the series’ filming locations. The wide desert landscapes, quiet streets, old-world architecture and unsettlingly peaceful atmosphere have sparked one major question online: where exactly was this thing filmed? The answer is mostly New Mexico, although production kept several exact spots under wraps during filming because apparently some fans still believe walking directly into an active set screaming actors’ names is a normal hobby.
Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the 2026 sci-fi thriller follows Sam Cooper, a grieving man who relocates to a retirement community called The Boroughs somewhere in the New Mexico desert. Naturally, what begins as a peaceful fresh start quickly turns into sleepless paranoia once terrifying creatures begin stalking residents at night. Nobody believes him at first, because horror stories involving mysterious monsters apparently rank just below “old man yelling at clouds” on the credibility scale.
But as strange disappearances and disturbing secrets pile up, Sam joins forces with other residents to uncover what is really happening inside the seemingly idyllic community. The production leaned heavily into New Mexico’s unique atmosphere to build the show’s unsettling visual identity.
Filming reportedly began in September 2024 and wrapped in February 2025 after roughly five months of production. During that time, more than 2,000 local workers were involved, including crew members, actors and background performers. Netflix clearly went all in on creating a world that feels isolated, dusty, cinematic and quietly cursed all at once.
The biggest filming base for ‘The Boroughs’ was Albuquerque, New Mexico, which honestly has become one of Hollywood’s favourite locations whenever producers want somewhere visually dramatic without needing ten layers of CGI fog.
Albuquerque provided much of the series’ core backdrop, with its mixture of desert terrain, suburban streets, rugged mountains and older neighbourhoods helping create the feeling that danger could appear literally anywhere after sunset.
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The city’s dry atmosphere and huge open spaces make everything look oddly beautiful and deeply uncomfortable at the same time, which is pretty much the entire mood of the series.
Several areas around downtown Albuquerque reportedly appeared throughout the show, particularly during scenes involving Sam wandering through town trying to convince people that terrifying creatures are not exactly ideal retirement neighbours.
The city’s quiet residential roads and classic Southwestern architecture gave the fictional Boroughs community its unsettling “too peaceful to trust” appearance.
Long-time television fans also immediately recognised the area because Albuquerque has previously hosted productions including ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Better Call Saul,’ and ‘Stranger Things.’ At this point, New Mexico is basically carrying half the streaming industry on its back.
Production also used sections of Old Town Albuquerque, where historic adobe-style buildings and narrow streets added extra texture to the series’ mystery-heavy atmosphere. Some evening scenes reportedly transformed the district into dimly lit pathways that looked charming during daytime and mildly terrifying after dark.
Fans online joked that the location somehow made retirement villages look both expensive and haunted simultaneously, which honestly feels accurate.
Another major filming area was Santa Fe, New Mexico, located roughly an hour from Albuquerque. Santa Fe brought a different energy to the series, trading urban tension for quieter cinematic landscapes filled with mountain views, desert roads and traditional Southwestern architecture.
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The city’s artistic atmosphere and slower pace perfectly matched the show’s themes surrounding ageing, loneliness and hidden fear. It is the kind of place where everything looks peaceful enough for a postcard until the soundtrack suddenly changes and someone starts hearing noises outside at 2am.
The production reportedly utilised parts of Canyon Road and surrounding historic districts to create several residential sections of the Boroughs community itself. Santa Fe’s older buildings and earthy colour palette gave the show a grounded realism that stopped the sci-fi elements from feeling too over-the-top.
Even the sunsets looked suspiciously dramatic. Viewers online have already admitted they now want to visit Santa Fe purely because the series somehow made desert isolation look weirdly cosy despite the constant lurking sense of doom.
The series also reportedly filmed sequences around Sandia Foothills outside Albuquerque, where rocky landscapes and open desert terrain were used for several tense outdoor scenes.
These locations added scale to the series and reinforced how isolated the characters truly were. Nothing says “absolutely no help is coming” quite like endless desert stretching into the horizon while unsettling noises echo somewhere behind you.
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Production additionally spent time in Las Vegas, New Mexico, which provided several vintage-looking streets and older buildings seen throughout the series.
Despite sharing a name with Nevada’s neon-heavy chaos machine, New Mexico’s Las Vegas is quieter, historic and filled with old Western-style architecture that suited the eerie tone perfectly. Some viewers were shocked to discover the town was real because the series made it look almost too cinematic to exist outside television.
Another striking location tied to the production was Tesuque Pueblo, where several exterior landscape shots captured the region’s raw desert beauty. The natural scenery surrounding the area added to the series’ feeling of ancient mystery quietly sitting beneath modern life.
The visuals became so distinctive that many fans online immediately began searching travel guides while simultaneously admitting they would absolutely panic if they heard strange noises there after sunset.
One particularly talked-about filming backdrop was Cerrillos, a small historic village south of Santa Fe known for its old mining-town appearance. The location reportedly appeared during several slower character-focused moments and helped reinforce the series’ weathered, lived-in atmosphere.
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| Netflix |
Its dusty roads and faded buildings looked almost frozen in time, which worked perfectly for a show obsessed with buried secrets and emotional baggage nobody wants to unpack.
Fans and netizens have had wildly different reactions to the filming locations. Some viewers are fully obsessed with New Mexico now, praising the series for showing parts of the state rarely highlighted outside crime dramas and Westerns.
Others joked that the locations were so atmospheric they spent half the episodes distracted by scenery instead of paying attention to the monsters. A few viewers even admitted the retirement community itself looked so beautiful they would still move there despite the whole “mysterious creature stalking residents at night” issue. Human decision-making truly remains fascinating.
There has also been growing praise online for the production’s decision to avoid overusing artificial studio environments. Many viewers felt the real desert landscapes gave ‘The Boroughs’ a more grounded and unsettling feel compared to heavily CGI-driven sci-fi shows.
The natural silence of the New Mexico setting added tension in ways expensive visual effects often cannot. Sometimes an empty road in the middle of nowhere is scarier than any monster design money can buy.
What makes these locations especially appealing is that many of them can genuinely be visited by tourists. From wandering through Santa Fe’s historic streets to driving across Albuquerque’s desert outskirts, fans now have a full unofficial travel route inspired by the series.
Just maybe avoid dramatically staring into the distance while ominous music plays in your headphones. Local residents have probably suffered enough from confused tourists recreating scenes already.
With viewers continuing to analyse every frame for hidden details and filming spots, interest in ‘The Boroughs’ locations only keeps growing. And honestly, Netflix may have accidentally created one of New Mexico’s best tourism campaigns in years — just with slightly more existential dread attached. So if you had the chance, would you actually visit the real-life Boroughs filming locations, or are some fictional communities better appreciated safely from your sofa?