Josh Brolin on his return to television with ‘Outer Range’

Josh Brolin is returning to the small screen with his upcoming series Outer Range, and he spoke more about the exciting process with Good Morning America. 

Brolin was first asked about his 20-year hiatus from television acting. “It’s not possible, because I’m only 17 years old, so that’s impossible,” Brolin joked.

Fans know that it has, in fact, been 20 years since he did a television series — and for a good reason; Brolin didn’t feel like there was enough focus in the arena he needed. He spoke more about the motivation for returning to TV with a show like Outer Range, and how the ability to focus made this project special to him. 

“I’ve been offered a few series in the last few years, and you know — streaming has become a big thing; it’s not typical network series like it was last time. When I stopped doing series, or when I made that decision — and it was a very definitive decision, it was 22 episodes, 26 episodes — it had to do with the amount of content that was being put out. You couldn’t really focus, in any kind of artful way, at least to me and the stuff that I worked on. So this was eight episodes; it was over a seven-month period, and it was a lot of focus. There was a lot of really great people involved and I like the western genre, it’s a great genre to be involved in.”

Of course, the fact that Outer Range is a Western — with a twist — appealed to the actor, who loves the style.

“I was looking for a western, and then you take the kind of sci-fi element of it or the supernatural element, and then you turn the western on its head, and you have something that I think is sustainable for a long time.

Brolin plays a character named Royal Abbott in the upcoming Amazon Prime series, and he shared more about Abbott and the synopsis of the exciting show.

“Royal Abbott runs the ranch, he’s married, and he has a family. It’s all about the integrity of keeping the family together, keeping the family of the land. I think it’s an ecologically sound story, and you found out as the family is being hit by this kind of unknown thing, that the foundation isn’t as solid as you once thought. Everything starts to crumble, and it makes for good drama and good behavioral intensities.”

The word “foundation” is sure to have several meanings throughout the series. Keeping the family together and “of the land” isn’t an easy task, especially not with outside forces threatening the life they know. The first two episodes of Outer Range hit Amazon Prime this Friday, and as the driving force for Brolin’s return to TV, it’s going to be a series you don’t want to miss.