From the Creator of American Primeval, Netflix’s New Crime Series Could Be Yellowstone’s True Successor

American Primeval creator Mark L. Smith has another grizzly Western series in store on Netflix that could make for a great replacement series now that Yellowstone is over. Smith, best known for writing the screenplays for films such as The Revenant, The Boys in the Boat, and Twisters, teamed up with director Peter Berg to bring American Primeval to life earlier this year, a gritty and gruesome portrayal of survival in the birth of the American West. While there’s been no official confirmation of American Primeval season 2, the streaming success of the series has left viewers wanting more similar content.

Compared to Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan’s groundbreaking family drama series that reinvigorated the Western genre on television, American Primeval is far more violent and unforgiving. Due to the time difference between American Primeval and Yellowstone, characters are governed by different laws – in American Primeval, natural law is all that matters is a nearly lawless land, while in Yellowstone, characters like John Dutton take concepts of the law into their own hands. Although Smith is not collaborating with either Berg or Sheridan in his new Netflix series, it appears to be heavily inspired by both of their Western shows.

The Creator Of American Primeval Also Wrote Netflix’s Upcoming Crime Thriller Untamed

Untamed Takes Place In The Vast Wilderness Of Yosemite National Park

Mark L. Smith and co-writer Elle Smith (The Marsh King’s Daughter) have written a new six-part crime drama mystery series titled Untamed set in Yosemite National Park in California. The show follows Kyle Turner, played by Eric Bana, a special agent for the National Park Service who leads an investigation into a brutal death at Yosemite. Untamed also stars Sam Neill and Paul Souter, the chief park ranger at Yosemite, Rosemarie DeWitt as Jill Bodwin, Turner’s ex-wife, and Lily Santiago as Naya Vasquez, a young cop from Los Angeles, and Wilson Bethel as Shane Maguire, an ex-military wildlife management officer at Yosemite.

American Primeval found success following its January release on Netflix, but the streamer is still unable to compete with Sheridan’s Western shows.

Smith spoke with Netflix’s Tudum about how Yosemite is an ideal setting for the crime thriller story of Untamed. “Everyone thinks of Yosemite as this beautiful place with all the vistas and all the scenery, but we were trying to touch on the dangers that are just beyond that. I love stripping all the cheats away, stripping all the more modern tools that people can use. It really gets down to the character and what they can find within themselves.” Smith’s comments suggest that he’ll be taking a barebones approach to Untamed that was seen throughout American Primeval, giving his characters little to protect themselves from the dangerous forces of nature.

Why Untamed Will Be The Perfect Yellowstone Replacement

Both Are Linked To The Significance Of Their Natural Settings

While there may never be a true replacement for Yellowstone, Untamed seems like it has a lot of potential to be a similarly riveting series set in a beautiful, natural, and preserved landscape. Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite National Park are arguably the two most historically significant and visually mesmerizing national parks in the United States, with both playing crucial roles in their respective TV shows. John Dutton himself, Kevin Costner, starred in the 2025 docuseries Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner earlier this year, highlighting the natural wonders and rich history of both parks.

Even though Yellowstone is more of a traditional drama series and Untamed is set to be a true crime thriller, the link between the two shows should be felt in their design and tone, backed by the impressive locations. Untamed is also reminiscent of the classic 1974 NBC drama series Sierra, which was also filmed in Yosemite National Park and centered on a group of National Park Service rangers who enforce the law and rescue people from the wilderness. Untamed will be released with all six episodes on July 17, 2025, exclusively on Netflix.