Netflix has announced a new television series adaptation of Larry McMurtry's seminal Western novel, Lonesome Dove. The project reunites the streaming service with showrunners Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart, who previously collaborated on East of Eden.
Teton Ridge Entertainment holds the film and television rights to McMurtry's Lonesome Dove book series. The original 1985 novel chronicles the journey of former Texas Rangers Augustus "Gus" McRae and Woodrow Call as they lead a perilous 3,000-mile cattle drive to Montana.
This new series builds on a rich history of adaptations. CBS produced a highly acclaimed television miniseries in 1989, featuring a notable cast including Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, and Diane Lane. Kazan and Stuart expressed their enthusiasm for the project in a joint statement, calling it a "western classic" and expressing their intent to approach the material with "love and respect."
Beyond the original novel, McMurtry's Lonesome Dove saga includes further books such as Streets of Laredo, Dead Man's Walk, and Comanche Moon, which have also been adapted for television. A syndicated series titled Lonesome Dove: The Series also aired for two seasons in the 1990s.
Kazan and Stuart are set to executive produce the new Lonesome Dove series alongside Thomas Tull, Jillian Share, and Jen Gorton of Teton Ridge Entertainment, Jon Jashni, the late McMurtry’s creative partner Diana Ossana, and Curtis McMurtry of the McMurtry Estate. Kazan and Stuart's East of Eden is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 1.