First Look at Netflix Western Godless

Screen Rant

First Look at Steven Soderbergh's Netflix Western Series Godless

By Matt Dolloff

Published Aug 24, 2017

The first look at photos from the Steven Soderbergh-produced Netflix Western series Godless is available to check out online.

The first official look at Steven Soderbergh's new Netflix Western series Godless has been revealed. The new seven-part limited series will be the first original Western produced by Netflix. Soderbergh serves as executive producer alongside Casey Silver (The Forbidden Kingdom) and Logan writer Scott Frank, who also wrote and directed the pilot episode. The series is centered around Jeff Daniels as notorious outlaw Frank Griffin and his search for an ex-partner who betrayed him.

Where Godless' premise rides into largely uncharted territory is the town of La Belle, N.M., where Griffin's former partner Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell) is hiding out at a ranch where widower Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery) harbors him. La Belle is populated and governed entirely by women, and its citizens will band together to fight back against Griffin and his men when they march into town in search of Goode. Thanks to a fresh set of images, you can now get your first glimpse at how the new series will look.

Variety posted a series of first-look photos on Wednesday, revealing the main characters and the settings they will inhabit in what the report describes as a "lawless western frontier". There are a few first looks at Daniels as Griffin, one of which you can see above. The veteran actor will make his first TV appearance since Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom in 2014. Check out a photo of Daniels as Griffin below:

There is also a photo of O'Connell (Unbroken) as Goode lying in what appears to be a cell of some kind, as well as a glimpse at an interaction between Goode and Griffin that could take place in the same location. Dockery (Downton Abbey) can be seen as Fletcher brandishing a rifle in multiple photos. The photos additionally feature Sam Waterston (Grace and Frankie) as Marshal John Cook and Scoot McNairy (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice) as Bill McNue, who also appears to be some form of law enforcement.

It's going to be a busy fall for Soderbergh, who will also be promoting Logan Lucky, his first feature film since 2013's Side Effects. He has more recently ventured into TV production, as he also served as executive producer for Cinemax's acclaimed drama The Knick and Amazon's original comedy series Red Oaks. Based on the talented cast assembled and the look of the new photos, Godless certainly has a chance to be another success.

Godless has a unique premise for a Western with La Belle and its all-female populace, the kind of setting rarely depicted in Westerns of any kind. It's somewhat risky for Netflix to present an unconventional story in its very first Western, but it's hard to bet against the network's run of quality dramas in recent years. It's also difficult to doubt the talents of Daniels, Frank, and Soderbergh.