Netflix has found success in a variety of genres with its original programming, and now the streaming video service is strapping on its guns for the Western series Godless, starring The Newsroom and Dumb and Dumber actor Jeff Daniels.
Created, written, and directed by Academy Award nominee Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Minority Report), the six-part series premieres in November. Netflix released the first trailer for the project this week.
Godless casts Daniels as Frank Griffin, a notorious outlaw who finds himself hunting down his former protege when the latter betrays the gang and Frank’s trust. Unbroken actor Jack O’Connell portrays Roy Goode, a man Frank had raised to take over the gang, who now finds himself on the run. When Roy takes refuge in an isolated mining town governed by women, he brings the wrath of Frank and his gang down upon the town and its residents, who include a tough widow played by Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery. Roy and the rest of the town’s inhabitants must find a way to defend themselves against Frank and his gang if the town is going to survive.
Along with Frank as the show’s writer, director, and creator, Godless also has Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) attached as executive producer, along with Casey Silver (Hidalgo). Jessica Levin (True Detective) and Michael J. Malone (The Nice Guys) also serve as producers on the series.
Joining Daniels, O’Connell, and Dockery in the cast of Godless are Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Maze Runner), Jessica Sula (Split), and Sam Waterston (Law & Order). The series was filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and will be a reunion of sorts for Daniels and Waterston, who previously co-starred on The Newsroom.
The series is one of several original series premiering on the streaming video service over the next few months. Also debuting on Netflix in November is Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It (November 23) and true-crime series Alias Grace (November 3), as well as the comedy special Brian Regan: Nunchucks and Flamethrowers (November 21), the original film O Matador (November 10), and the documentaries Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (November 17) and Barbra (November 22).
Godless premieres November 22 on Netflix.
