'American Primeval' Is Based on a Horrific War in the Old West
Look back in America’s history and you’ll find one tragedy after another. That said, it’s not an easy task to film a period piece about the beginnings of this country without mentioning countless instances of rampant violence and vast colonialism. American Primeval, a new Netflix limited series about the Utah War in the 1850s, isn’t afraid to dramatize the horrors of the Old West.
Directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), the six-episode drama (now available to stream in its entirety) focuses on an event in Utah circa 1857: the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In American Primeval's premiere, we see a small lead-up to the event after the fictional Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin) and her son Devin (Preston Mota) arrive at Fort Bridger—but it’s off the races once they set out with some pioneers.
The duo’s caravan trail is attacked by a Mormon militia and local Paiute warriors. Sara and her son find themselves trapped in the brutal, historical massacre, which resulted in roughly 120 casualties. Though the event lasted five days in real life, the scene in American Primeval plays out over the course of a few minutes. From there, Sara and Devon meet a loner named Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) who helps the pair defend themselves from the Latter-Day Saints militia, which is aiming to eliminate any survivors.
Why Did the Mountain Meadows Massacre Take Place?
Much like in the series, the massacre was a result of a dispute between President James Buchanan and Utah Governor Brigham Young. Yes, that Brigham Young—one of the most influential religious leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ the Latter-Day Saints. Young reportedly declared martial law over the territory after Buchanan allowed settlers to pass through, leading to violence from the Utah Territorial Militia (AKA the Nauvoo Legion).
Only one man—John D. Lee, a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature—was excommunicated from the church, tried in a court of a law, and executed for the massacre. While Lee’s trial is not covered in American Primeval, some real characters are portrayed in the limited series. Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) plays Brigham Young, and Shea Whigham (Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning) plays Fort Bridger's owner, Jim Bridger.
To drive up the action, American Primeval focuses more on the trio as they attempt to escape their pursuers. I wouldn’t have minded a legal battle set in Ye Old West. Still, Kitsch and Berg were right to focus on the drama of survival in an unexplored territory. We won’t reveal how the series ends, but the violent struggle is a riveting Western on par with Yellowstone and its spin-offs.
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