Netflix’s new historical drama “American Primeval” is currently the No. 1 series on the site. But how much of the show and its characters are based on the 1857 Utah War?

With the western genre an increasingly difficult sell for audiences, the streamer’s gritty new series seems to have beaten the odds. Louis Chilton looks at the merits and significance of ‘American Pri

Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin led the gritty miniseries about a family's trek across the American West in 1857.

After sitting on top of the Netflix top 10 list for a while, American Primeval, the limited series starring Taylor Kitsch, is now down to #2 thanks to the arrival of Monday Night

The show is set in 1857 America when "up is down, pain is everywhere, innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear," according to Netflix. "Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace—even fewer know compassion. There is no safe haven in these brutal lands, and only one goal matters: survival."

Netflix’s “American Primeval” promises to show “America like never before.” But as fans of frontier stories know, there’s really nothing new under the Western sun.

In the latest LDS news, we sample critical reviews of "American Primeval" and explore the Netflix series from a historical perspective.

Westerns – thanks to shows like Yellowstone – have come back in a huge way. And what’s more: American Primeval tackles a fascinating subject, which is America’s only indigenous religion: Mormonism and it’s (literal) war for legitimacy.