Normally in TV and film, the A-list actors get their names in large fonts, with everyone else scrolling by, barely visible. At the end of the closing credits, a small note might thank a city for their cooperation in filming.
But rare is the day when a city becomes an uncredited cast member as important as the stars. Vince Gilligan pulled that off in Breaking Bad and Albuquerque. As creator, primary writer and executive producer of the series, as well as its prequel Better Call Saul, Gilligan made the Duke City a star in its own right.
The result is a destination filming location that attracts thousands of visitors each year who want to see the houses, businesses and other iconic structures that appeared in both series. It has spawned two businesses, the Breaking Bad Store ABQ (2047 S. Plaza St. NW) and Breaking Bad RV Tours (breakingbadrvtoursabq.com)…