The History Channel is partnering with Kevin Costner for a special miniseries chronicling the most talked about family feud of all-time. For nearly thirty years, the Hatfield's and the McCoy's shot, stabbed and burned each other alive with reckless zeal, culminating in a threatened standoff between Kentucky and West Virginia's militias. Seeing as how often the back-and-forth is referenced today, it's crazy to think the Hatfield's and the McCoy's battled it out almost one hundred and fifty years ago. Then again, seeing as how vicious, violent and lawless the whole thing was, it's crazy to think the most celebrated family feud in the history of the United States occurred less than one hundred and fifty years ago.
For most, the details have grown fuzzy over the years and the specifics have boiled down to a couple of families who hated each other's guts, but The History Channel is ready to fill in the details. The network will begin shooting The Hatfields & The McCoys immediately with an aim toward airing the miniseries next year to correspond with the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Costner will play Devil Anse Hatfield, and the remaining roles will be cast shortly.
The closest comparison we have today would likely be a mafia war, but even in la Cosa Nostra conflicts, the two sides typically hold fast to certain honor codes. No killing women, no killing children, no involving the state. Both the Hatfield's and the McCoy's violated these maxims repeatedly. It all started when Asa Harmon McCoy decided to fight in the Civil War for the Union Army. He lived a short distance from West Virginia in Kentucky, technically a border state, but many in the area were fiercely loyal to the Confederacy. His decision was widely seen as treason, and several members of the Hatfield family hunted him down and executed him upon his return. No one was every charged, and the matter was dropped until a disagreement over pigs led to a mutual relative's murder and one of Deveil Anse Hatfield's sons knocked up one of the McCoy girls. Then all hell broke loose.
Here's to hoping this miniseries causes less drama than The Kennedy's.
