‘Kevin Costner’s The West’ Rides Again Into the Wild West With New History Channel Series

Lori Acken May 26, 6:00 am

Kevin Costner 'The West' History Channel Series

Kevin Costner has spent decades bringing the American frontier to life — from Dances With Wolves to Hatfields & McCoys to Yellowstone. Now, he’s saddling up again for History’s Kevin Costner’s The West, an eight-part deep dive into the brutal realities of America’s expansion from the time when the “Wild West” was still east of the Mississippi. Forget Hollywood’s romanticized cowboys and outlaws. Kevin Costner’s The West is a vivid and unvarnished history of the soldiers, settlers, warriors and rebels who fought, battled and bled for the right to live on their own terms and the land of their choosing — no matter who was already there. Kevin Costner’s The West will premiere on Monday, May 26 on History with the first two episodes.

Costner’s fascination with the West started early. A blue-collar kid from Compton, California, his love for Westerns was sparked at age 7 when he trekked to the movies to see How the West Was Won. Costner’s childhood obsession turned into a career-spanning passion, from playing legendary lawmen to producing stories that dig deep to the roots of America’s past and plant them firmly in the present. Collaborating with famed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Costner trades six-shooters for storytelling, using expert insight to reveal what really happened on the frontier.

What is Kevin Costner’s The West about?

A scene from "Kevin Costner's The West" premiering on Monday, May 26 at 9/8c on The HISTORY Channel.

A+E Networks

Less romantic than a Ken Burns epic, and must-see viewing for American history obsessives, The West peels back the layers of legend to explore the clash of cultures, power struggles and the relentless push for land.

“This is a clash of two different ways of seeing life itself. Fighting for the future of your homeland on the one side and fighting for the destiny of the new republic on the other side,” says historical author and educator Clay Jenkinson, one of a multitude of experts — from authors and academics to historians, tribal representatives and descendants — that Costner and Goodwin tap to tell their story.

The series opens with Costner standing amid the Western splendor cataloging the images most of us associate with the West: “A sheriff and outlaws in a gunfight … cowboy strumming his banjo under the stars … a wild herd of buffalo.” Then he assures us that we are about to go much, much deeper, into the stories of the men and women who very literally had skin in the game in pursuing — or protecting — their land.

“There’s people that fight for ‘God and country’ and there’s people that fight for the land that they actually live on,” Costner told Channel Guide in a previous interview. “If you’ve ever fought for the land and the people on it — where you sleep, where you feed yourself — you feel the difference.

A recreation scene from "Kevin Costner's The West" premiering Monday, May 26 at 9/8c on The HISTORY Channel

A+E Networks

“Everything we’re standing on, blood was shed over it — somebody else’s,” Costner added. “We just rolled over the people that were [already] there. The people who were tough enough, mean enough, strong enough, resourceful enough, crafty enough have it now.”

And so Kevin Costner’s The West is no cinematic siren song about cowpokes, pioneers and progress. It’s a reckoning with how the West was really won, who paid the price and how their stories continue to shape America today.

“The people and their stories have always held a fascination for me,” Costner shared in a network statement. “But there’s an urgency today to put those times — and the men and women who we think we know — in perspective, in the context of their times, without judgment.”