As Yellowstone's fate hangs in the balance, Netflix has entered the arena with a brand-new Western drama. Slated for release on January 9, American Primeval is a six-part series penned by The Revenant's Mark L. Smith.
Boasting a stellar cast, True Detective alum Taylor Kitsch takes the lead as Isaac – a man struggling to overcome his demons. Joining him, Sons of Anarchy's Kim Coates will play Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormon Church, and a man determined to save his followers.
Meanwhile, Oppenheimer's Dane DeHaan inhabits Jacob Pratt, a Mormon leading his family across the frontier to get to Utah, and GLOW's Betty Gilpin stars as Sara Rowell, a mother hoping to give her son Devin a better life.
Netflix has released an official trailer, alongside what sounds like a gripping synopsis. It reads: "This is America, 1857. Up is down, pain is everywhere, and innocence and tranquillity are losing the battle to hatred and fear.
© Netflix"Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion. There's no safe haven in these wild 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 for control of this world. The ensemble tells a story of the sacrifice all must pay when they choose to enter the lawless and brutal frontier."
Following the trailer's premiere, fans have taken to Instagram to share their response. "Netflix doesn't miss," wrote one. "Fav genre," added another. Meanwhile, a third noted: "I've waited a year for this trailer to drop and HOLY [expletive]."
During production, the show, which will also include Native storylines, appointed Julie O'Keefe as an Indigenous cultural consultant and project adviser. Julie had just finished working on Martin Scorsese's true crime saga, The Killers of the Flower Moon, when she was asked to lend her expertise to American Primeval.
© Netflix"My place on set is in the script supervisor's tent. When [director] Pete began to film, and I could see it all coming together on camera, it was mind-blowing," she told Tudum. Speaking of her pride in the project, she added: "The amount of Native language that is used in American Primeval is breathtaking, and it is such a gift.
"And I get a little bit teary when I think about it because for the 574 Tribal Nations that are out there, Netflix and the team on American Primeval were advocating [for them], because they're helping us push something that we almost lost and a lot of Tribal Nations have lost."
