The Real Locations Behind Netflix’s New Western, American Primeval

1 day ago

We delve behind the scenes

This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more

The Real Locations Behind Netflix’s New Western, American Primeval

There’s a new drama on everyone’s lips – and it’s based on real blood-soaked stories underpinning American history. With the action orbiting a small trading post and the wild west beyond, where was American Primeval filmed? And is Fort Bridger a real town? Here’s what you need to know.

Where Was American Primeval Filmed?

American Primeval was filmed in New Mexico, a southwestern US state bordering Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas, with the Mexican border in the southwest. The climate and terrain vary massively here, spanning cold alpine temperatures on forested mountains to hot and arid climates on sparse deserts. Its state capital, Santa Fe, is the oldest state capital in the US, founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo Mexico, a province of New Spain – so it’s the perfect place to film a series about the birth of the Wild West.

After the story was finalised, the next task for director and executive producer Pete Berg was to build out the scope of American Primeval. His inspiration? Robert Redford’s 1972 Western Jeremiah Johnson. ‘When I saw it as a kid, I felt like I was in it,’ Berg tells Netflix. ‘I was in the elements… Just surviving. I always wanted to do something like that.’

Joined by showrunner and executive producer Eric Newman, series writer Mark L. Smith and the rest of the team, American Primeval was Berg’s chance to get immersed in the New Mexico mountains. ‘If ever there was anything easier said than done, it’s this,’ shares Newman. ‘I believe all of us will forever be haunted in scripts by the words “it snows” or “night, exterior night”.’

Filming while exposed to the elements is by no means easy; snow, rain, thunder and lightning all pummelled the production, with rattlesnakes making a daily appearance. Rather than dim morale, this seems to have bolstered the production even further.

While filming, the actors were braving the kind of weather their characters would have faced in 1857, trudging through the snow, rain, thunder, and lightning, with rattlesnake cameos a daily occurrence on set. ‘When you’re on hour 15 of shooting, and you’re freezing, and you’re beyond exhausted, it all comes into play,’ says Taylor Kitsch, who leads the series as Isaac. ‘There’s nothing better than shooting on location. I loved it.’

American Primeval Filming Locations

Specific filming locations in New Mexico include:

Pueblo de Cochiti
Santa Clara Pueblo
Bonanza Creek Ranch
Parajito Mountain Ski Area
Charles R Ranch

Many of these locations are incredibly remote, meaning survival skills also came into filming. Likewise, no creature comforts we’re used to in the 21st century. ‘We didn’t have Wi-Fi anywhere we were,’ shares Begs. ‘We had no cell service. So we were actually interacting with each other and bonding.’

Where Is Fort Bridger?

Fort Bridger was a real trading post in the Territory of Utah – today part of Uinta County in Wyoming. An important resupply point for people journeying on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails, a US Army post was located here from 1858 to 1890. Today Fort Bridger is on the US National Register of Historical Places, with a small town of the same name located nearby.

In American Primeval, however, filming took place in New Mexico where a huge set was built to replicate the real town. ‘There are hundreds of massive, 80-foot trees that were used to build the walls around Fort Bridger,’ Berg says. ‘Back in the 1850s, there were no power tools, so that had to be cut by hand with axes. Those construction guys were out there every day building that set with hand tools.’

The set turned out larger than the real place, as the team ‘wanted to have so much life there,’ Smith explains. ‘It became like a small village. We had shops, and we had a dentist and a doctor, and baths and things that were accurate to that time period. Fort Bridger took on a life of its own.’

At the end of the series, spoiler alert, Jim Bridger sells Fort Bridger to Brigham Young – and the Mormon leader burns it down to spurn the US Army. Based on a true story (Jim really did gallop off into the wilderness and Brigham really did set the Fort alight), the American Primeval production team also burned about half of its Fort Bridger set to the ground in New Mexico.