Kevin Costner stars in the biggest western on TV right now, Yellowstone, but it is an older western series that has been getting the attention of Netflix subscribers recently. The western in question is the 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
Based on the real-life feud between two families on the West Virginia/Kentucky border in the years following the Civil War, Hatfields & McCoys was a History Channel original that starred Costner as "Devil" Anse Hatfield opposite the late Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy, the two patriarchs of the rival families. The series also starred Tom Berenger, Powers Boothe, Andrew Howard, Jena Malone, Sarah Parish, Lindsay Pulsipher, Ronan Vibert, Mare Winningham, Boyd Holbrook and Sam Reid.
Airing over three consecutive nights on The History Channel, the miniseries was a hit on TV, with 13.9 million viewers tuning in to the debut, which at the time made it the most-watched, non-sports telecast in ad-supported cable TV history, per The Washington Post. For comparison, Yellowstone's best ratings performance was for its season 5 premiere, which drew in 12.1 million viewers.
Hatfields & McCoys also proved a success on the awards circuit, winning five Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Costner, as well as earning 16 total nominations, among them Outstanding Miniseries or Movie (it lost to the HBO political movie, Game Change).
Netflix added Hatfields & McCoys to its streaming library on April 1 as part of its what's new on Netflix slate for April. Since then it has moved its way into Netflix's daily top 10 for TV shows in the US, landing on the list for multiple days. It's a welcome return for the miniseries, which has had runs on Netflix previously.
Costner is well known for his work in westerns. In addition to Hatfields & McCoys and Yellowstone, he starred and directed the Best Picture-winning Dances with Wolves, as well as Open Range; he also starred in 1994's Wyatt Earp. Costner is also set to direct another western called Horizon, which has already made headlines as it has been reported that it may be causing scheduling conflicts with his role on Yellowstone that could possibly see Costner leaving the hit series.
In addition to Netflix, you can watch the three-episode Hatfields & McCoys miniseries via digital on-demand. Check out the trailer for the show right here:
You can also catch up with Yellowstone season 1-4 on Peacock and the first part of Yellowstone season 5 on-demand.
