The two Western shows couldn’t be more different, but the casts of Netflix’s American Primeval and Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone both share one tricky training program in common.
Anyone who’s watched Yellowstone (or any of American Primeval‘s brutal six episodes, for that matter), will have surmised that working on a Western is no easy task. Gunfights, stunts, and extreme weather conditions are usually all part of the package – and it’s all tackled while riding a horse.
Taylor Sheridan’s flagship show is a modern tale of family, wealth, and politics. American Primeval, on the other hand, is a bloody horror story of territory and survival.
Both offer entirely different sides of the Western genre, but they do share something in common. And thankfully, it helped the casts of both shows get to grips with their demanding roles.
American Primeval and Yellowstone casts all did “cowboy camp”
Yellowstone’s “cowboy camp” has become as synonymous with the show as John Dutton himself. The camp serves as an extended training period for the cast, during which they learn about riding, working as ranch hands, and coping with the demanding and often painful parts of acting like cowboys.
Netflix’s American Primeval (which arrived on the streaming service on January 9), implemented this same training, also called “cowboy camp”.
Their version of the camp took place over a month in Santa Fe, where the cast were taught to get comfortable with their horses – including learning to ride through three feet of snow.
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Director Peter Berg [via Vanity Fair] also had to ask the cast questions ahead of time, such as, “Are you in physical shape? Are your knees good? Are your ankles good? Is your back okay?”
Despite the training, some injuries were unavoidable. Taylor Kitsch, who plays Isaac, broke his foot two-episodes into production, and had to remain in a boot for six weeks.
Yellowstone is much the same, though their cowboy camp came in a different form with each passing season. What’s more, cast members in spinoff shows such as 1923 and 1883 also had to endure the same training.
Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, said of the camp, “Taylor’s a cowboy himself. He really walks the walk […] He made sure that we were on the horse every day and he sent us to the cowboy camp.”
Sheridan has spoken about his process in the past, even declaring, “I don’t rehearse with my actors There’s no way to inform them what this way of life is, you just have to do it. I just take them out and put them to work.”
All six episodes of American Primeval are available to stream on Netflix now. For more, learn about the horrifying true story the show is inspired by. You can also see what’s going on with upcoming Yellowstone spinoffs, such as 6666 and The Madison.