Taylor Kitsch is set to star in Netflix’s limited series American Primeval, which will be directed by Peter Berg.
The series hails from The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith, and it’s said to be a raw, adventurous exploration of the birth of the American West, back when men and women of different cultures, religions, and communities fought and died for control of a new world — a land they truly believed was their destiny, but one that required great sacrifice.
Kitsch will star as Isaac, a traumatized man struggling to overcome his demons and find a reason to live in this brutal and punishing world.
Eric Newman (Narcos) of Grand Electric will executive produce American Primeval under his overall deal at Netflix, where Berg and his Film 44 banner are also under a first-look deal. Berg will also executive produce alongside Smith. Newman, Berg and Kitsch already have a Netflix limited series in the can — Painkiller — that will begin streaming sometime next year.
“American Primeval is a portrait of the American West unlike any other — raw, thrilling, action-driven, and brought to life by a tapestry of emotionally compelling characters led by the talented Taylor Kitsch,” said Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s VP of scripted series. “We’re excited to explore new depths of this genre as we grow our creative partnership with the extraordinary Pete Berg at the helm backed by the deft storytelling vision from Eric Newman and Mark L. Smith.”
This is actually the second Western series that Netflix has ordered of late, as the streamer also has Kurt Sutter‘s The Abandons on the horizon, though clearly there’s an appetite for westerns right now given the success of Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone, so it may be wise for Netflix to double down on the genre.
“We are very appreciative that Netflix is trusting us to take a big swing with American Primeval,” added 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.”
Berg developed the TV series Friday Night Lights that made Kitsch a star, and the two of them went on to work together on movies like Lone Survivor and Battleship. Kitsch most recently starred opposite Chris Pratt in Amazon’s action series The Terminal List, and he also played cult leader David Koresh in a Waco series, as well as one of the leads on Season 2 of HBO’s True Detective. Meanwhile, Berg directed the fact-based thrillers Patriots Day and Deepwater Horizon, both of which starred Mark Wahlberg. WME represents Berg and Kitsch, who is also repped by Untitled Entertainment.
Newman has two upcoming Netflix projects in the works — the limited series Zero Day, a political thriller starring Robert De Niro, and the Griselda Blanco series Griselda, which will star Sofia Vergara as the infamous drug queenpin. He’s repped by CAA, which also reps Smith along with Black Bear Pictures.
