The series, created by Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg, stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin and Dane DeHaan.

The 19th-century American West of American Primeval is a land of unyielding brutality, though nothing about this six-part Netflix series, premiering Jan. 9, is as violent as Peter Berg’s belligerently over-the-top direction.

The Western can be a deeply romantic genre with white hats and black hats, dusty streets and beautiful sunsets. Great films and TV series have broken with our rose-colored expectations of the American frontier,

Peter Berg directs an epic six-part drama about the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, in which more than 100 settlers were murdered by militant Mormons.

One week after dropping a new Harlan Coben Netflix show, Missing You, Netflix rolled out the most violent, graphic, and brutal show you'll watch this year, American Primeval from Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg.