Netflix is going to give us season 2 of Wednesday eventually (okay, in 2025), but in January, subscribers can check out a new limited series called American Primeval.
Created by The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith and executive produced and directed by Peter Berg, the limited series stars Betty Gilpin and Taylor Kitsch. The Western is set in 1857 and tells the story of three Indigenous Tribal Nations: Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone.
From the brief look in this trailer, viewers can look forward to chill-inducing statements like “There’s a war brewing in this territory” and “Civilized and civilization are two different words entirely.” Wait, that second statement is pretty brilliant.
I’ll admit it, I was immediately invested in the trailer for American Primeval because I’m a huge Taylor Kitsch fan. Ever since I watched all five seasons of Friday Night Lights as fast as humanly possible back in university, I’ve swooned over the dreamy actor’s portrayal of football heartthrob Tim Riggins. No character in the upcoming reboot can ever compare. While, yes, he looks particularly good in this new series (with a perfectly imperfect rugged beard and tousled hair), there is a more important reason to watch American Primeval: the careful and sensitive portrayal of Indigenous people.
Julie O’Keefe (Osage) was the project advisor and Indigenous cultural consultant on the show. Berg explained that O’Keefe ensured the language, clothing, hair, and jewelry was correct for each tribe. He said, “We’re very mindful of how important it is that all of these different groups are honored.”
O’Keefe said that although many Hollywood players think “one person can answer any ‘Native American’ question,” that isn’t the case because “There are 574 federally recognized Tribal Nations in the U.S.” This is a crucial point that is absolutely missed by so many. O’Keefe explained to Netflix Tudum that she worked with several experts from each tribe and that the “language is authentic.” She also said there is “No more brown paint or weird symbols painted on people’s faces.” An example of getting it right: one scene depicts the Shoshone tribe “getting ready for war” and includes Shoshane songs. O’Keefe also asked an artist to create a warbonnet that the head singer wore.
O’Keefe was also the costume consultant on Killers of the Flower Moon. She told Entertainment Weekly when she watched the Martin Scorsese movie, she thought, “this is my people and my story, and it’s being heard.”
The Netflix logline says American Primeval is “the fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die to keep or control this land.” It’s good to know that the people behind the limited series ensured that they were telling a respectful as well as compelling story, instead of doing a tiny bit of research and then assuming they knew everything.
More showrunners/creators and filmmakers should do the same, but sadly, too many depictions of various cultures are full of stereotypes where it’s clear that the people involved did the bare minimum. A good example: the 2019 Hallmark movie Mistletoe & Menorahs is about a Jewish man teaching a Christian woman about Hannukah (because it’s hard to understand) and giving her confusing food like latkes (i.e. fried potato) and jelly donuts. Where was the Jewish consultant then?
Since Kitsch’s post-Friday Night Lights career hasn’t looked as good as he does, it’s good to see him starring in an important project instead of another poorly made action flick (aka John Carter and Battleship). American Primeval will premiere on Netflix on Jan. 9, 2025.
Published: Dec 5, 2024 05:41 pm