When does American Primeval take place? Historical timeline, explored in depth

American Primeval, the newest offering from Netflix, is as gritty and violent as it gets. The shocking part is the violence shown through the six episodes actually took place in history, though some of it is fictionalized for the sake of storytelling. The show focuses on a particularly brutal period of American history — the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre.

In a conversation with Tudum, Peter Berg, director of American Primeval, said:

“I read an article on something called the Mountain Meadows Massacre,” Berg told Netflix. “[It] was something that interested me, and I started doing a lot of research on it.”

The Mountain Meadows Massacre took place during the Utah War, an often-neglected chapter in American history. Berg’s fascination with the period led him to the making of American Primeval, which topped the Netflix charts following its premiere on January 9, 2025.

Let us now explore in detail the time period that the show focuses on, and if there are any real life personalities that American Primeval has taken inspiration from.

American Primeval takes place during the 1857 Utah War

American Primeval presents a dramatized version of the 1857 Utah War, which saw a violent collision between the Mormon soldiers, Native Americans, pioneers, and the US government over ownership of land, and resulted in the gruesome murder of almost 120 settlers, as reported by Smithsonian magazine.

Eric Newman, executive producer of American Primeval, described the show as:

“an anti-nostalgic, truthful look at our history.”

He added:

“These rose-colored glasses in which we view the past, from the first Thanksgiving onward, is a lie. It’s a lie meant to make us feel good about this really rugged, brutal path that we’ve taken. I think we do a disservice to ourselves by looking at it in that way because it prevents us from seeing it [happening] again."

Given the show's time period, everyone involved is busy to protect their rights and their land as they fear someone else will usurp it. Berg had this to say about a primary character, Brigham Young, who led the Mormon pioneers:

“Brigham Young and the Mormons feel as though the military is about to attack them at any point in time, so they’ve started their own army called the Nauvoo Legion.”

The American Army on the other hand wanted the Mormons out of Utah and they also felt scared that fighting them would be the end of their lives. The miners saw their livelihood threatened by bigger companies and, therefore, the whole thing was really a struggle for survival, which turned into a violent war.

Are there any real characters in American Primeval?

Yes, American Primeval does have characters that draw real-life inspiration. For instance, Shea Whigham's character Jim Bridger did exist in real-life and was the builder of the Fort Bridger town. The town is real and is featured in the series.

Brigham Young was real, too. He was the Mormon Church head and had his own army named Nauvoo Legion. Kim Coates plays Young in American Primeval. A member of the army was Wild Bill Hickman, a real-life character played by Alex Breaux in the show.

However, several other main characters of American Primeval such as Sara, Isaac, Devil, and Two Moons are fictional. These protagonists were created for the sake of drama and storytelling in show only. Despite these characters being fictional, their story is rooted in history and brilliantly brings out the essence of the violent times that American Primeval captures.

American Primeval is streaming on Netflix.