Netflix is heading west for its next must-watch series. The streamer has officially announced its gritty new six-episode limited series American Primeval, starring Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin – and it’s already on our watch list!
Directed by Pete Berg and written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), American Primeval is describe as “a fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die to keep or control this land.” The limited series, which was greenlit by Netflix in December 2022, is set in the 1857 American frontier and is a retelling of the exploration of the American.
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“This is America… 1857. Up is down, pain is everywhere, innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear,” an official synopsis reads. “Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion. There is no safe haven in these brutal lands, and only one goal matters: survival.”
Kitsch, who reunited with Berg after they previously worked together on Friday Night Lights and Lone Survivor, stars as Isaac, “a traumatized man struggling to overcome his demons.” Gilpin, meanwhile, portrays Sara Rowell, who’s “seeking a guide across the frontier for her and her son, Devin,” portrayed by Preston Mota.
The cast also features Kim Coates as Mormon Church leader Brigham Young, Jai Courtney as trapper and bounty hunter Virgil Cutter, Kyle Bradley Davis as the “nasty, dangerous” Tilly, Dane DeHaan as Jacob Pratt, Nick Hargrove as Jim Bridger’s right hand Cottrell, Derek Hinkey as Red Feather, Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Abish, Shawnee Pourier as Two Moons, Joe Tippett as James Wolsey, and Shea Whigham as Jim Bridger.
Inspired by real events, American Primeval is an “authentic portrayal,” according to Julie O’Keefe, who served as Indigenous Cultural Consultant and Project Advisor on the show. Speaking to Vanity Fair, O’Keefe said, “I don’t believe in changing history. It was a violent time When I think of all the stories that are out there, 574 tribes plus hundreds of thousands of stories, they’re all violent. What happened in particular with the community that I am a part of and what was done to us, I think that this is an authentic portrayal. People shouldn’t necessarily have anything sugarcoated.”
American Primeval is executive produced by Berg and Smith, alongside Eric Newman and Alex Gayner. The series premieres on Netflix on Thursday, Jan. 9.
