Sam Neil co-stars in the new streaming series about the hunt for a killer in Yosemite National Park.
Kyle Turner, an Investigative Services Branch agent of the National Parks Service, is on the hunt in Yosemite. And he’s looking for someone much more treacherous than a smarter-than-average bear who swipes picnic baskets.
In Untamed, the six-episode drama series premiering July 17 on Netflix, Turner, played by Eric Bana (Hulk, Lone Survivor), searches for an elusive killer who may know Yosemite National Park as well as he does. Trouble is, according Netflix, “the dark secrets lurking in both Kyle and the park’s past may be just as dangerous as the murderer.”
Created by Mark L. Smith (American Primeval, The Revenant) and Elle Smith (The Marsh King’s Daughter), the show is described as a character-driven mystery thriller about dark deeds in the great outdoors.
“Everyone thinks of Yosemite as this beautiful place with all the vistas and all the scenery,” says Mark L. Smith, “but we were trying to touch on the dangers that are just beyond that. I love stripping all the cheats away, stripping all the more modern tools that people can use. It really gets down to the character and what they can find within themselves.”
Turner is joined on his investigation by rookie park ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago of La Brea), a former L.A. cop who’s more accustomed to the bustle of city life than to the untamed landscape of Yosemite. Despite the character’s relative inexperience, says Elle Smith, she plays a major role in the drama: “Because Vasquez is new to the park, we get to see the park through her eyes. “We get to understand what this job is, and see the beauty of the park, but also the dangers.”
Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Omen III: The Final Conflict) co-stars as Paul Souter, a seasoned park employee who’s been the chief ranger in Yosemite for half his life. Netflix describes him as “a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and friend to Turner” who’s “comfortable in all facets of his job, whether dealing with crime inside the park or the bureaucracy around it.”
Rosemarie DeWitt (Little Fires Everywhere, And Just Like That…) and Wilson Bethel (Heart of Dixie, Daredevil: Born Again) round out the main cast as, respectively, Jill Bodwin, Turner's ex-wife, a former teacher and park counselor who maintains a strong bond with her former spouse; and Shane Maguire, a former Army Ranger who employs his skills as the park’s Wildlife Management Officer, and prefers to live alone in the wilderness where can live by his own rules.
Here is the official Netflix trailer for Untamed.
