Colorado Town Featured in Tragic Opening Scene of Netflix Original

If you’ve had a Netflix account for a couple years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen advertisements for the company’s original show called “Godless.” This western mini-series follows the story of an infamous outlaw (played by Jeff Daniels) chasing down his partner-turned-enemy across the 1880s American West.

RELATED: 21 Colorado Film Locations You Can Actually Visit

While most of this story takes place in New Mexico, the series starts near Creede, Colorado amidst a scene of tragedy. Here’s a shot near the opening of the first episode, “An Incident in Creede.”

There’s also this awesome shot of someone on horseback in front of rock formations found in the Creede area.

Here are the rocks in real life.

RELATED: Snapshots of Creede, the Ghost Town that Never Died

Another Colorado town, Leadville, makes a quick appearance, as characters walk past the “Leadville Exchange Bank.”

The episode even closes with a shot of ‘ Creede’ that hikers of the local “Inspiration Point Trail” may recognize.

Here’s a shot of the actual Creede for comparison.

While Creede plays an integral part in the plotline of ‘Godless,’ several of the locations mentioned in the show seem to be hypothetical. For example, a mine “near Creede” that gets robbed is called “Tomboy Mine,” which doesn’t seem to be a real mine near Creede. If this name sounds familiar, it’s because there is an abandoned mine by the same name near Telluride. Characters also mention a place called “Doubtful Canyon,” saying that it’s a few miles outside of Creede. While there is a “Doubtful Canyon” in the United States, it’s located in southeastern New Mexico, not Colorado. It’s also worth mentioning that t he only information we could find about where “Godless” was filmed indicated that the show’s production took place solely in Santa Fe, New Mexico, meaning that any ‘Creede’ scene would be either shot at an off-location site or reliant on special effects. While the show captures some of the culture and atmosphere that might have been found in Creede during 1880s, that’s where the historical accuracy seems to start and stop.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Creede has found its way to the silver screen. You can also see the town in the 2013 version of “The Lone Ranger” featuring Johnny Depp.

RELATED: 21 Colorado Film Locations You Can Actually Visit

Located in Southwestern Colorado in Mineral County, Creede was a booming mining town during the late-1800s, now home to only around 300 residents (down from an estimated 10,000). Today, the area has become a tourism hub of the area, attracting people that come for the “Bachelor Loop,” a road that passes many abandoned mines.

RELATED: Snapshots of Creede, the Ghost Town that Never Died