When Netflix released Godless in 2017, audiences were greeted by a landscape that felt less like a television set and more like a preserved piece of the American frontier. The seven-episode miniseries didn’t just rely on the sweeping vistas of the West; it created a tangible, breathing world centered around the fictional town of La Belle. To achieve this, the production didn’t settle for existing backlots or digital extensions, opting instead to build a fully realized town from the ground up in the New Mexico desert.
The series, written by Scott Frank and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, represents a convergence of cinematic ambition and television storytelling. For Frank, Godless was a project nearly two decades in the making. Originally conceived as a feature film, the narrative evolved over years of development before finding its home as a limited series. This extended gestation period allowed Frank and his team to lean into a level of historical detail and architectural authenticity that is rare even in high-budget streaming productions.
At the heart of this authenticity was the physical construction of La Belle. The production team transformed a portion of the San Cristobal Ranch in New Mexico into a sprawling settlement that served as the epicenter of the show’s conflict. By blending rigorous research with an aggressive construction timeline, the crew created a setting that mirrored the social isolation and ruggedness of the characters who inhabited it—most notably the headstrong women who ran the town after a mining accident had claimed the lives of most of its male population.
Building a Frontier from Scratch
The creation of La Belle was a massive logistical undertaking. Over the course of 12 weeks, construction crews worked to erect a city consisting of 28 distinct buildings. This was not a mere facade; the town included fully realized structures such as a hotel, a saloon and a jail, each designed to withstand the harsh elements of the New Mexico landscape while maintaining a weathered, lived-in aesthetic.
The choice of San Cristobal Ranch as the primary filming location was deliberate. The site carries a cinematic pedigree of its own, having previously hosted productions like the 1972 film The Cowboys and the 2008 Western Appaloosa. By utilizing a location already steeped in the genre’s history, the Godless team was able to leverage the natural topography to enhance the scale of the town.
While La Belle served as the anchor, the production expanded across several other high-impact locations to capture the diversity of the American West. The Chama River provided a scenic backdrop for the journey, while the rugged terrain of Diablo Canyon was used for the visceral, high-stakes action sequences that open the third episode. The only significant departure from New Mexico occurred during the series’ final sequence, where the production moved to the Sizeable Sur region of California to capture a solemn moment overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The Architecture of Authenticity
The visual identity of Godless was spearheaded by production designer Carla Curry, a veteran of the industry whose career dates back to the 1980s. Curry, working alongside co-set designers Carlos Barbosa and David J. Bomba, focused on “historicity around every corner.” Rather than creating a generic “Western town,” Curry designed the sets to reflect the specific social strata and personal histories of the characters.
This attention to detail was supported by researcher Mimi Munson, who helped Scott Frank ensure that the dialogue, costumes, and architecture aligned with the reality of the late 19th century. The result was a town that felt organically grown rather than manufactured. The layout of La Belle reflected the town’s precarious relationship with the surrounding wilderness, emphasizing the vulnerability of the residents against both the elements and the outlaw gangs pursuing Roy Goode.
The technical precision extended beyond the buildings. The integration of sound design and cinematography worked in tandem with the physical sets to create an immersive atmosphere. The scale of the set allowed the directors to utilize wide shots that emphasized the isolation of the characters, a key thematic element of Frank’s writing.
| Production Element | Detail/Specification |
|---|---|
| Construction Timeline | 12 Weeks |
| Total Buildings | 28 Structures |
| Primary Location | San Cristobal Ranch, New Mexico |
| Key Landmarks | Hotel, Saloon, Jail |
| Additional Sites | Diablo Canyon, Chama River, Big Sur (CA) |
A Legacy of Craftsmanship
The impact of the Godless set extended beyond the series itself. The massive infrastructure built for La Belle became a valuable asset for Netflix, serving as a hub for subsequent Western-themed projects. This strategy of building “permanent” or semi-permanent sets allows streaming services to achieve a cinematic scale that was previously reserved for major studio feature films.
The collaboration between the creative leads was a critical factor in the show’s success. The relationship between Scott Frank and Steven Soderbergh—who previously collaborated on the 1998 Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight—brought a lean, efficient filmmaking style to the production. This partnership ensured that the massive physical scale of the set never overwhelmed the intimate, character-driven storytelling.
The production’s commitment to detail was further highlighted in interviews conducted by the Television Academy. Crew members including casting director Ellen Lewis, art director Mark Garner, composer Carlos Rafael Rivera, and editor Michelle Tesoro have all noted how the physical environment of the set influenced the performances and the pacing of the edit. When actors are placed in a fully realized world, the authenticity of their performance often follows suit.
As Netflix continues to expand its library of prestige limited series, the production model used for Godless—combining long-term development, rigorous historical research, and massive physical builds—remains a benchmark for the industry. The series proved that the “small screen” could accommodate the grandiosity of the epic Western if the production design was treated with the same reverence as the script.
While the physical structures of La Belle may eventually succumb to the elements of the New Mexico desert, the series remains a testament to the era of “maximalist” television production. The next phase for such ambitious projects likely involves a deeper integration of virtual production technology, but for now, the raw, dusty reality of the Godless set stands as a high-water mark for the genre.
Do you think modern streaming shows rely too much on CGI, or did the physical scale of Godless set a standard that should be followed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
