Netflix Launching a Production Hub in New Mexico, Totaling $1 Billion in Business Over 10 Years

Even though Hollywood is the hub of the entertainment industry, the space for production has become more scarce with tech companies and start-ups taking up more and more of the real estate that would otherwise commonly be used for film and television production. That leaves some major players looking for production space and finding it outside Tinseltown, and Netflix has just decided to spend a truckload of money outside of Los Angeles with a new production hub in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Deadline has word on Netflix being in final talks to purchase ABQ Studios, where films like Logan and Independence Day: Resurgence, as well as shows like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, were made. The location has eight sound stages, production offices and a back lot. Having been to the facility for a set visit during production of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand and the Independence Day sequel, I can tell you that it’s like a Hollywood studio was transported entirely from Los Angeles to the middle of the desert.

Netflix plans to use the studio for the apocalyptic Daybreak, their supernatural drama Chambers, and a suspenseful thriller called Messiah, the latter two already being produced in New Mexico. But that’s just the start of their plans in the city where plenty of Looney Tunes characters have taken a wrong turn.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez revealed in a statement that Netflix would bring $1 billion in production to New Mexico over the next 10 years and create as many as 1,000 jobs. Apparently that’s a bit of a snub to Los Angeles, but Netflix already has plenty of roots there since they have a 13-story office building to themselves. There’s just more space for them in New Mexico where they can have an entire studio to themselves, not to mention a growing infrastructure thanks to the presence of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul for years now.

This is Netflix’s first studio purchase, but if they keep up their increasing rate of programming in the coming years, they might need to buy more. They were also potentially looking to pick up their own movie theaters too, but we haven’t heard any movement on that front yet. Either way, Netflix is clearly sticking around for a long while, even though they’ll be taking some of their movie and TV magic outside of Hollywood.

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