The American West


The American West is a limited-event American television docu-series detailing the period 1865 to 1890 in the United States. The series was executive-produced by Robert Redford, Stephen David and Laura Michalchyshyn with Sundance Productions and aired for eight episodes on AMC from June 11 to July 30, 2016.

Overview

Following the American Civil War, the United States begins developing into the "land of opportunity," despite the danger from cowboys, Native Americans, outlaws and lawmen. The series chronicles the stories of Western legends, such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, George Armstrong Custer, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

Production

Produced and distributed by Sundance Productions, the series features exclusive interviews with notable names from classic Western films, including Robert Redford, James Caan, Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark Harmon, and Ed Harris.
The series was to be initially aired on Discovery Channel, but was changed to AMC and retooled in 2014. Production on the series began in August 2015, following AMC's ordering it straight to series.
Filming for the series was predominantly done in West Virginia's Berkeley and Jefferson counties, as well as Prickett's Fort State Park in Marion County.

Cast

Main

The series features several interviews from authors, celebrities, historians and political figures.
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times compared the series to others in the genre: "What's fresh in this retelling...is the degree to which it has gone in for re-creation as opposed to documentation, and the fact that it has drafted movie cowboys." He added "it's more dress-up than drama, more reenactment than documentary."
Rob Lowman of the Los Angeles Daily News called the series "more entertainment than insightful." He added "The American West doesn't dig into the ramifications of transformation of the West, preferring to keep skipping through history."

Episodes

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on History on October 11, 2016.