While Yellowstone tripped on shallow Native representation, American Primeval stood its ground, spotlighting real pain, real power, and real people.

Let’s call it what it is: Peter Berg didn’t just tip his hat to Taylor Sheridan; he reshaped the whole saloon. American Primeval, the Netflix miniseries that tore through January 2025 like a prairie fire, isn’t some echo of Yellowstone. It’s a primal growl, not a polite Western whisper.

Set in 1857’s Utah War chaos, the show unflinchingly bleeds myth from history, offering a gut-punch of truth where Taylor Sheridan sometimes sprayed varnish. 

Berg dared to speak a different language in the same dialect. He earned Sheridan’s silent nod but did one thing strikingly better: authenticity.

Peter Berg didn’t follow Taylor Sheridan’s blueprint; he torched it (in the best way)

Kelsey Asbille as Monica Dutton in Yellowstone|| Credit: Paramount Network
If Taylor Sheridan is the cowboy-poet of the Western renaissance, then Peter Berg is the blood-smeared prophet clawing truth from myth. In his Esquire interview, Berg admitted he respects Sheridan but will never copy his homework:

But Taylor’s doing so many great things in the western space, and I just never did one. I thought that I could bring my own sensibilities and tastes and vision to that genre.

And we believe him. Right off the bat, Berg is setting the tone: no rivalry here.

He’s making it clear that Taylor Sheridan isn’t just some industry heavyweight; he’s a personal friend, a creative collaborator, and someone he deeply respects.

Taylor’s a good friend of mine, and we’ve worked together a lot. I have so much love and respect for him, and I certainly was aware that the western is having a moment.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The way he concluded is the mic drop. Berg didn’t just tell a Western story; he created a new dialect within the genre. To quote him:

For any aspiring filmmaker, even if you can think of another film in the same genre, just think, You haven’t done one yet. That’s what we did with American Primeval, and it found its own language.

Ergo, American Primeval wasn’t just horses and gunfights. It was pain, culture, silence, survival, and fury, told in a language that hadn’t been heard before in that space.

What American Primeval did that Yellowstone couldn’t

American Primeval | Credit: Netflix
Let’s talk turkey: Yellowstone fell off the wagon when it came to Native representation. Taylor Sheridan cast Kelsey Asbille, who claimed Cherokee ancestry (via The New York Times), as Monica. But a dive into her family tree didn’t turn up the receipts. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians flat-out denied any affiliation (per Penchanga).

Adam Beach, another powerhouse Native actor, didn’t mince words either (via NextShark):

I’m asking my Native Actors to stay away from this project. Yellowstone is telling the world that there are no Native actresses capable of leading a TV show. Unless your great-great-great grandparents are Cherokee.

Sheridan, for all his flair with frontier storytelling, didn’t escape unscathed. He caught heat for stepping into Native stories with boots that didn’t quite fit.

Now, compare that with American Primeval. The show dared to center a Shoshone matriarch who radiated strength, steering her village through horror with steel-eyed dignity. It honored their language, their culture, and their stories without sanding down the edges.

American Primeval gets it right emotionally and culturally.

Still from American Primeval | Credits: Netflix
Peter Berg didn’t just pluck American Primeval out of thin air; he dug it up with blood on his hands and dust in his throat. The seed for the series was planted after he stumbled upon accounts of the Utah War and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, two episodes of American history that have been tiptoed around more often than not. But instead of skimming the surface, Berg rolled up his sleeves and dove headfirst into the muck of it (via Forbes).

And the show reflects that heavy homework. Berg didn’t just want to recreate a story; he wanted to understand it. And that hunger for truth is what separates American Primeval from most shows that wear history like a costume. This one wears it like a scar.