<p id=”par-1_61″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/netflix/?swcfpc=1″>Netflix</a>’s newest drama draws inspiration from one of the bloodiest episodes in American history. <em>American Primeval </em>is a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kevin-costner-confessed-he-doesnt-like-most-western-movies.html/”>gritty historical Western</a> from director/executive producer Peter Berg. It takes the Mountain Meadows Massacre as its jumping-off point. The show opens with the horrifying 1857 attack and uses it to explore the “violent collision of culture, religion, and community” on the American frontier. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-american-primeval-draws-from-real-life-history”>‘American Primeval’ draws from real-life history </h2>
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<iframe title=”American Primeval | Official Mature-Rated Trailer | Netflix” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/MbKeytYuJRA?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-2_22″><em>American Primeval </em>is fiction. But the Mountain Meadows Massacre was a real event – one with which many viewers might be unfamiliar. </p>
<p id=”par-3_79″>The massacre took place on Sept. 11, 1857, in Utah Territory. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/under-the-banner-of-heaven-whats-real-vs-fiction-first-two-episodes.html/”>Mormons led by Brigham Young</a> (portrayed by Kim Coates in the Netflix show) had claimed the region for their own after being driven out of Illinois. Young served as the territory’s governor, which he ruled as a theocracy. That led to conflict with President James Buchanan, who wanted to assert federal power in Utah. In 1857, Buchanan ordered federal troops to the territory, alarming Young and his followers.</p>
<p id=”par-4_46″>Caught in the middle of this simmering conflict were wagon trains of emigrants traveling from the eastern U.S. to California. When one group from Arkansas, the Fancher Party, made their way through southern Utah, the Mormon Militia attacked, along with some members of the Paiute tribe.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-more-than-100-people-were-killed-in-the-mountain-meadows-massacre”>More than 100 people were killed in the Mountain Meadows Massacre </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/American_Primeval_Brigham-Young-Kim-Coates.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Brigham young kneels with a man standing behind him in ‘American Primeval'” class=”wp-image-3760531″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kim Coates as Brigham Young and Alex Breaux as Wild Bill Hickman in ‘American Primeval’ | Courtesy of Netflix © 2024</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-5_88″>The Fancher party fought back when attacked, leading to a stalemate. After a few days, the Mormons offered the emigrants a truce. But rather than allowing them safe passage, they turned on the members of the wagon train, slaughtering more than 100 people, including women and children. The Mormon militia members then attempted to cover up their role in the attack, instead blaming it solely on the Paiutes. Ultimately, just one man, John D. Lee, was convicted for his role in the massacre. He was executed in 1877. </p>
<p id=”par-6_71″>Young was the leader of the Mormons at the time of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but the degree to which he knew about or was involved with the attack is a matter of historical debate. The show explores the complexity of Young’s role in the settlement of Utah. Coates said in an interview with Netflix’s <a href=”https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/american-primeval-kim-coates” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Tudum</a> that he tried to craft a nuanced portrayal of a complex and controversial historical figure. </p>
<p id=”par-7_68″>“As an actor, you have to make choices,” he said. “Things start at the top and filter down, and we mustn’t shy away from both the nastiness and the goodness in our history. And this particular story has some of both, and it has some lessons that we can and should learn from. But boy, it was tough to survive in 1857. I don’t know how anyone did.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_17″>For Berg, the fictional story told in <em>American Primeval </em>was a way to explore America’s difficult history. </p>
<p id=”par-9_30″>“You get a little bit closer to some of the origin stories of how our country was formed,” he told the <a href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/arts/television/american-primeval-netflix.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>New York Times</a>. “Those origin stories are very violent.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_7″><em>American Primeval </em>premieres Jan. 9 on Netflix. </p>
<p id=”par-11_4″>Sources: <a href=”https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-massacre/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>American Experience</a>, <a href=”https://www.history.com/topics/religion/brigham-young” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>History</a></p>
<p id=”par-12_16″><em>For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to </em><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmTM34h0-P7FcCwuA6h6sw/videos”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel</em></a><em>.</em></p>