[ominous music playing] This was the hardest thing I've ever filmed.

[music building] We were up in the mountains of New Mexico for 13 months. We shot in snow at 10,000 feet. It was brutal. This shoot has taken every ounce of my body and soul and emotional being. I'd never done anything like this before.

[gun cocks]

[man groans]

[gunshot echoes]

[unsettling music fades] Action.

[intense music playing]

[Pete Berg] ‘American Primeval’ is about one of the most violent and isolated parts of America in 1857 and a woman and her son trying to get through that land.

[clamoring] My husband is waiting for us at Crooks Springs. I would appreciate an escort. 

I play Isaac Reed, the guy that was raised Shoshone. Isaac agrees reluctantly to guide them through this territory. There is no West at this point. It's the frontier.

[Mark L. Smith] We wanted to be very, very accurate. We would explore the characters that were in this world. The Indigenous. The Mormons. The pioneers. And the bounty hunters in Fort Bridger. The level of violence in ‘American Primeval’ …

[grunts] 

… is probably tame [compared] to the actual violence that happened. It was a real place which is so stark and terrifying. This doesn't seem to be a world that favors a woman on her own. 

[woman] That's why we get married, isn't it? 

You would naturally think, this time period, this amount of violence, it's going to center on the men. It's the exact opposite. Our main character, Sara, is our guide through this world.

[Betty Gilpin] Motherhood is Sara's superpower. Sometimes it's the thing that makes her the strongest person and the thing that kind of blinds her sometimes. She softens to people she shouldn't trust.

[Eric Newman] Women are incredibly vulnerable in this world, but it does not make them weak. 

[man] How is it you Mormons divvy up the women? Two apiece?

[woman] Like shoes. One for each foot. 

[Saura Lightfoot-Leon] Abish goes through a hell of a lot. 

I've lived a decent life. Now I will see what comes next.

Her strength, that's what's the beautiful thing about her. They call her Stone Woman for a reason.

[Shawnee Pourier] Two Moons has so much trauma. She's trying to navigate through a very rough life. She's alone until she finds Devin and Sara.

Mom. I know her.

[Sara] Don't come closer!

What?

I know her.

[Shawnee Pourier] We all try to survive the really gruesome American frontier.

[Isaac] They're coming. We do what we have to do.

[Pete] This was a rough place at a rough time. Folks did what they had to do to survive.

[screams]

[grunts] What we're bringing here is realism.

[shouts]

[grunts]

[Derek Hinkey] We're not sugarcoating anything. To make it authentic, it can be quite dangerous. My stunt guy is honestly incredible. Violence was such a huge part of the world at this time. We knew it was going to have to be a violent show. We'll cleanse and purify the world!

[screams] It's raw and honest about all the brutality and insanity that came with that time.

[grunts]

[howls]

[haunting music playing] We wanted to really explore a very dangerous time.

[Pete Berg] Action!

[screams]

[man] You've got your Utes, Paiutes, grizzlies, wolves, riled-up Mormons.

[screams]

[grunts] 

Every department, the authenticity was really, truly spectacular.

[Betty Gilpin] The costumes, and hair, and set design. The texture of the teepees. Down to the wagon wheels. We're shooting at these incredible locations. Fort Bridger blew me away. It was incredible.

[Renée Read] We built Fort Bridger in the same way that non-carpenters, drunken blacksmiths would have built them in 1857. We built it for real. This is the frontier. This is the end of the line. It's the only land I know. It's been an amazing journey.

[Pete Berg] Action. 

This experience has been pretty wild. We're on a descent into some very dark madness. ‘American Primeval’ is breathtaking. It shows our rage and strong spirit. It's very raw and beautifully tragic.

[gunshot echoes]

[music fades]