There’s been quite a bit of buzz about Taylor Kitsch since it was announced that a Friday Night Lights reboot is happening, but meanwhile, the actor who will always be known to some as Dillon football player Tim Riggins has been keeping busy with some other projects on the 2025 TV schedule. American Primeval recently dropped on Netflix’s 2025 calendar starring Kitsch as a guide helping a mother and son survive their quest to California. The series seems to be winning fans over, but is that the reason Kitsch isn’t committing to the FNL reboot?
Critics And Audiences Give Taylor Kitsch’s American Primeval Their Stamp Of Approval
American Primeval began streaming to Netflix subscription holders on Thursday, January 9, and since then it’s accumulated an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter. In addition to Taylor Kitsch, the series stars Betty Gilpin as Sara Rowell and Preston Mota as her son Devin, who are trying to escape the vicious and dangerous Utah Territory in 1857.
Many fans, like the one below, who decided to give the period Western a shot were hooked from the very first episode, posting to X (Twitter):
Just finished episode 1 of American Primeval pic.twitter.com/1z5fJMgUBZJanuary 9, 2025
Other Netflix subscribers followed suit, with many noting how brutal the six-part series is, as well as how emotional they feel over the events that play out. Other audience reactions from X include:
- American Primeval on Netflix with Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin is awesome! It’s the best thing they both have ever done. It reminded me a lot of 1883 and The English. Journeying through Utah in the old west. One of the best series Netflix has made! – JiffSchwazz
- American Primeval is by some distance the best thing I've seen on Netflix in ages. – trivet1806
- You guys have got to watch American Primeval on Netflix. That shit is so well done. Like masterpiece done. – PINELANDGHOSTX
- American Primeval on Netflix is brilliant!! It’s like Deadwood meets Yellowstone meets The Revenant. Love it!!! Strange that it’s had very little media. Best thing I’ve watched for ages. – paulbellis
- Taylor Kitsch is so fucking good in American Primeval. Everyone is, but Taylor…damn. – daytime_GG
- This show is so brutally intense and so good - American west of the 1860’s meets Squid Game – TheRealMarkLevy
It’s easy to see how the series could get an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score with audience members posting reactions like this to social media. Critics, however, were slightly less taken by American Primeval, rating it an accumulated 59%. Aramide Tinubu of Variety calls it a “truly immersive experience,” writing:
Every single scene is profoundly detailed and intense. Blood is seen pouring out of skinned animals, the near-constant cruelty of the state’s differing climates is apparent and the ruthless, murderous human beings driven by capitalism and colonialism are lethal. It’s also clear that nearly everyone, including Sara, has some ulterior motive.
However, other critics like Rendy Jones of RogerEbert.com say the plot takes a backseat to gratuitous violence just for the sake of shock value. In Jones’ words:
The amount of gratuitous murder packed into the first episode feels nearly comical. Every community is depicted as equally savage—in a ‘bad men on all sides’ manner—all conducting many grotesque methods of murder. Berg, who directed all six episodes, reverts to his 2010s self, almost gleefully depicting graphic violence on everyone, including young children, for shock value.
Duly noted. Viewers, be prepared for all of that if you choose to hit Play on this show. My next question is, will Taylor Kitsch be too busy with this series to devote more time to Friday Night Lights?
Will American Primeval Keep Taylor Kitsch From Friday Night Lights Reboot?
Despite the positive reception the new Netflix show has received, it’s unlikely that’s the main reason Taylor Kitsch seemed to only be considering a small role on the upcoming Friday Night Lights reboot. American Primeval was only ordered as a limited series, and there’s no indication that a second season is coming. Even if there were a Season 2, it’s possible Kitsch wouldn’t even return.
If anything, it would more likely be his commitments to The Terminal List that would cause a scheduling conflict. The action series (available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription) that also stars Chris Pratt, Constance Wu and Riley Keough was renewed for a second season back in 2023, and a prequel series centered around Taylor Kitsch’s Ben Edwards was ordered.
We’ll have to see if the actor pops up anywhere else, but in the meantime, all six episodes of American Primeval are streaming on Netflix.
