The six-episode series is a sweeping drama about the settling of the American West.
In the wake of Territory, the set-in-Australia neo-Western starring Robert Taylor, Netflix has saddled up for another series of special interest to C&I readers: American Primeval, a sweeping adventure set in the 1857 American West. Directed by Pete Berg (Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor) and written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Twisters), the six-episode drama is set to premiere January 9.
The official Netflix logline: “Up is down, pain is everywhere, innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear. 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. American Primeval is 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.”
“We are very appreciative that Netflix is trusting us to take a big swing with American Primeval,” says Berg. “I’m looking forward to taking viewers into the most dynamic, intense, and heart-pounding survival tale humanly possible. We are going into the belly of the beast.”
Lead players include Taylor Kitsch (Waco, The Terminal List) as Isaac, a traumatized man struggling to overcome his demons; Betty Gilpin as Sara Rowell (Gaslit, GLOW), a woman seeking a guide across the frontier for her and her son, Devin (Preston Mata of Asteroid City); Dane DeHaan (The Kid, Oppenheimer) as Jacob Pratt, a Mormon leading his family across the frontier to join other settlers in Utah; Saura Lightfoot-Leon (Masters of the Air) as Abish Pratt, a Mormon woman who isn’t content to be seen as the property of her husband Jacob; Derek Hinkey (Walker: Independence, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1) as Red Feather, the leader of a renegade group of Crow warriors known as the Wolf Clan; Lucas Neff (Power Book III: Raising Kanan) as Captain Dellinger, a disillusioned captain in the United States Army who is responsible for keeping the peace in a very lawless land; and Kim Coates (pictured above with Alex Breaux as Wild Bill Hickman) as Brigham Young Young, the leader of the Mormon Church and a man who will do whatever it takes to secure the survival of his persecuted followers — including using his Mormon army, the Nauvoo Legion.
Also: Joe Tippett (Mare of Easttown, The Morning Show) as James Wolsey, a Mormon who leads a militia of men who don’t possess the moral code they claim they do; Jai Courtney (Kaleidoscope, The Suicide Squad) as Virgil Cutter, a trapper and bounty hunter who likes to take advantage of the naivete of others; Shawnee Pourier (Stranger Things, Dark Winds) as Two Moons, a strong-willed Native American woman who, after fleeing her village, is determined to survive at all costs; and Shea Whigham (Joker, Boardwalk Empire) as Jim Bridger, the legendary frontiersman who runs his namesake fort as a popular stopping point for settlers and trappers.
The supporting cast includes, among others, Tokala Black Elk (Happy’s Place, Wind River), Jeremy Guana (1883, Far Haven), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas, Alaska Daily), Nick Hargrove (Charmed), and Jeremiah Bitsui (Dark Winds, Breaking Bad). Julie O'Keefe is Indigenous Cultural Consultant and Project Advisor.