Already Missing Yellowstone? Try Binging Netflix’s Territory

According to director Greg McLean, when series creators Ben Davies and Timothy Lee pitched their Australian-set neo-western Territory to Netflix, they proposed: “What if we took Succession and Game of Thrones and created a story about a family on a cattle station?”

But wait, there’s more.

“Yes,” McLean concedes, “there’s obviously parallels to Yellowstone as well, because it’s a cattle ranch, and it’s a modern-day story, and it’s got some similar elements to it. But it’s also inspired by Ben’s experience a making a documentary series called Outback Ringer, about these cowboys in the Northern Territory who were so tough and so rugged and so cool. When I saw that show, I thought, “This is awesome. These guys, and the lifestyle of these guys, are so amazing. I’d love to show the world this place up there, which is so special, with these cowboys and the stunning landscapes as well.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what led to Territory, the exceptionally well-crafted and highly addictive drama starring C&I reader favorite Robert Taylor (Longmire), Michael Dorman (Joe Pickett) and Anna Torv (The Last of Us).  All six episodes are still available for binge-streaming on Netflix — and they’re guaranteed to leave you hoping for a second season.

What’s it all about? According to Netflix, Territory “follows the fight for power in the remote and unforgiving Australian outback when the world’s largest cattle station is left without an apparent heir. Imagine the family drama of your favorite prime-time soap, but set in a region so rough and remote that nearly everything can kill you.

“When Marianne Station is left without a clear successor, generational clashes threaten to tear the Lawson family apart. Sensing this once-great dynasty is in decline, the outback’s most powerful factions — rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders and billionaire miners — move in for the kill. With billions of dollars at stake, everyone wants a piece of the pie.”

Taylor is cast as Colin Lawson, the defiantly tradition-bound owner of Marianne Station, an Australian Outback spread described in the premiere episode as “the size of Belgium.” Lawson rules the place with a whim of iron, resolutely maintaining the empire that has been in his family for generations. But after the death of his eldest son and chosen heir, clashes over succession threaten to tear the Lawson clan apart.

Dorman plays Graham Lawson, Colin’s well-intentioned but hopelessly alcoholic surviving son, while Torv is Emily Lawson, Graham’s sympathetic but not entirely trustworthy wife. Other members of the cast include Philippa Northeast as Susie Lawson, the granddaughter who would rather herd cattle than attend college, and Sam Corlett as Marshall Lawson, the grandson forced to reconsider his decision to turn his back on his heritage.

Greg McLean recently called us from Australia, where he’s awaiting word about a possible Season 2 for Territory. Here are some highlights from our conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Cowboys & Indians: To start with a question on the minds of many C&I readers — what Is Robert Taylor really like?

Greg McLean: Well, I've known Robert for years. He was in my second movie,  Rogue, so we worked together on that. But I’ve also known him for a long time, and we’ve always been buddies. He’s just the greatest guy. He’s quite charming, he’s quite funny, and he doesn't take himself too seriously. Look, I know you’ve spoken to him a bunch of times, so you know that he’s basically very laid back, particularly for an actor with an international profile. He’s very unpretentious. And as actor on set,  he’s very understated, very considered.

It’s fun and enjoyable to work with him because he comes in with a lot of thought about his character, and his relationships to the other characters. But we don’t really talk very much. It’s very much a situation where I trust that he knows what he’s doing, so I kind of get out of his way. And if I ever have a note for him, it’s always something pretty minor — and he’s kind of already thought of it already.

And he really enjoys being on set. He loves hanging out with the other actors, and he loves kind of getting into it. I mean, this show in particular was a dream for him because when he wasn’t filming, he got to ride horses and ride motorbikes and go shooting and all the fun stuff. So he had a ball making this one. This was a dream job for him.

C&I: The last time he chatted with us, Robert indicated that he might like to play King Lear someday. Don’t you think there’s a bit of Lear in Colin Lawson?

McLean: Oh, definitely. And we spoke about that. I said, “Man, there’s some really Shakespearean themes in here.” I mean, you have a king whose kingdom is being torn apart. You know that famous line in King Lear — “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Well, you basically have all these children who become quite savage and quite feral once they realize his power is waning. So it absolutely has a kingly quality to it, and the character has a kingly quality to him.

I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but at the end of episode six, there’s a sequence where he is literally kingly, a moment where he essentially hands over the keys to the kingdom, and walks away from it all, until something happens that brings him back into it. But it’s all very much in that vein. There’s also a very strong Romeo and Juliet romance theme going through it. I think that once you start telling primary, archetypal stories, they’re always family stories. And all of Shakespeare’s stories are family stories in some way.

C&I: Michael Dorman plays Colin’s son, Graham Lawson, another complex and multifaceted character. And with all due respect to Robert Taylor and all the other great actors in Territory, you could say he has the most difficult role to play in the entire series.

McLean: Yeah, I don’t disagree. I mean, he probably has the biggest transformative arc in the show. When we first meet Graham, he’s kind of emotionally destroyed as a character. He’s so beaten down by his father, and he’s so much under his thumb. He’s obviously not the favorite son. And then his own son arrives, and suddenly he’s swept aside. I think he’s just like a beaten dog until he basically realizes there really isn’t anyone else to stand up here. Like, “I’ve got to stand up. I’ve got to find the courage.” And that’s what I think it makes it so dramatically thrilling, when you see him struggling with his alcoholism, and trying to find the strength to change his path. But he does have a huge transformation. And when you look at it, it’s quite amazing.

C&I: And if we’re talking about complex characters — Emily Lawson, Graham’s wife, certainly fits that description. At first, you may find yourself thinking, “Geez, why is she putting up with this guy?” And then she engages in what you might describe as extracurricular activity. But it’s a tricky line Anna Torv has to follow in this role. You never really resent her. And in terms of holding on to the audience’s sympathy, Torv gets away with things that maybe a lesser actor could not have gotten away with.

McLean: Yes, definitely. I mean, Michael has a really big arc. But in terms of what Anna has to play, I think it was very challenging for her to track her character throughout the series. Because Emily has to know things that no one else knows, including the audience, from the very first frame. And the challenge for Anna was, “How do I have all of that there in my head, and play it so that how I’m behaving at the start will make sense when we learn more about the character at the end?” She had to play multiple levels of information so subtly. And that’s a tribute to her skills as an actor, to be able to find a way to communicate that.

Also, she had to do it in a way so that she retains the audience’s empathy, because she does do things that traditionally might make you think, “Oh, OK, I’m out.” But she manages to humanize her struggle in a way that makes you go, “I can kind of see why she’s doing that. I empathize with her choices.” In fact, I'm thinking of the big reveal that happens. And even when she makes that choice, you go, “I empathize with that as well.”

Emily really is an interesting character. And I think that getting her right was not only a huge challenge for Anna — it was essential for the show to work at all. Because Emily’s kind of the main character. Obviously Robert is the patriarch of the show. Michael is kind of the tormented son who rises. And there are other characters who are really great. But it’s really Anna’s story in the way of basically how she survives being among these thundering, broken, strange men. And how she tries to find a way to be in that very toxic environment of a broken family.