In 1857, Wyoming was a rough and challenging place to be. Usually, only the strong survived.

The new Netflix series "American Primeval" shows how tough it was. Surprise attacks, cultural wars, extreme terrain, weather conditions, predators, and illness were all issues that nearly everyone dealt with daily.

The series follows a mother (Betty Gilpin) and her son who try to reunite with their husbands during the Utah War. From the beginning of the series, they are met with complications, including their guide being killed and chased by headhunters. Eventually, they team up with a skilled mountain man (Taylor Kitsch), attempting to lead them to their destination.

Legendary Wyoming mountain man Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham) and his fur trading post, Fort Bridger, play a significant role in the show. From the beginning, you determine how important Bridger was to those traveling through the Wyoming Territory, including the mother and son.

The show was directed by Pete Berg, who directed movies such as Lone Survivor, Patriot's Day, Friday Night Lights, and The Rundown. In American Primeval, Berg reunites with Taylor Kitsch, who played Lt. Mike Murphy in Lone Survival. Kitsch plays the hero mountain man who meets up with the mother and son.

In an interview, Berg says he was inspired to do a film set in this period by watching a classic mountain man movie, Jeremiah Johnson.

It kinda lit my fuse and was probably one of the pieces of film I saw that got me into this business.

Although the series has only six episodes, you won't want to stop once you start watching until the final credits roll. The action is nonstop, and the storyline is sometimes quite dark. Lots of violence and blood, so it may not be the best for the kids.

You can watch the trailer and then listen to an interview with Berg to learn more about the show's premise and the process of making it.

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Vintage Wyoming Movie Posters

I love walking down the hallway of a modern movie theater and looking at the old posters of vintage movies.

That got me thinking about old Westerns based on Wyoming. How many of those posters are still around?

Many are, and many are for sale online, if you want to decorate your home, or even home theater, with classic and mostly forgotten movie posters.

Most of these films were made before the era of television. Hollywood was cranking out these things as fast as they could.

The plots, the scrips, the acting, directing, and editing were SO BAD, they were good.

Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods