Have You Noticed This Strange Trend When New Hampshire Appears in Movies or TV Shows?
We know New Hampshire is nice. But is it possible we’re just a bit too trusting?
If you’ve done any binge-watching in recent years, you may have noticed a somewhat peculiar trend: almost any time they venture to the Granite State, they’re on the run.
The foremost example is the iconic AMC series Breaking Bad. The show's protagonist-turned-antagonist, Walter White, seeks refuge in the White Mountains after he is exposed as the dreaded “Heisenberg.”
White/Heisenberg/Mr. Lambert (an alias-on top of an-alias) spends several months in an isolated cabin in the woods nearly 10 miles away from anything. I won’t spoil Walt’s fate, but he wouldn’t meet it in New Hampshire.
In fact, he likely could’ve lived out his days here...
Long before Walter White, we had a “waste management” boss in New Jersey by the name of Tony. And when a Sopranos character named Vito decided to vanish, where did he wind up? New Hampshire, of course.
While in New Hampshire, Vito falls in love and even tries his hand at farming. But the small town life isn’t for him. Much like Walt, Vito may have been wise to remain up north.
Most recently, Dr. Sleep, a spinoff adaptation of The Shining based on the novel by your potential neighbor Stephen King, had a New Hampshire tie-in as well.
Dan Torrance, son of the late ill-fated Overlook in-keeper Jack, has moved to North Conway in an effort to hide from his demons (both literally and figuratively). But the trope of our favorite hangouts being used as hideouts isn’t limited to drama.
In one of the many under-the-radar New England references in Seinfeld, George Costanza references his father, Frank, vanishing on business trips only to call from a motel room in New Hampshire.
Perhaps it’s a case of art imitating life. Fugitive Ghislaine Maxwell was famously discovered hiding in a secluded mansion in Bradford back in 2020.
And in the '80s, famed “Subway Vigilante” Bernhard Goetz went on the lamb through New Hampshire before turning himself in at the Concord Police Department.
So what is it about New Hampshire that presents itself as a safe haven for fugitives? Is there yet another system of secret underground tunnels, or something else?
I guess we should be more aware of our surroundings. After all, a Seacoast town was just named one of the best for first-time homeowners.
That likely applies, as well, to those starting over as someone else...