Godless (miniseries)

Cast

Jack O'Connell portrays Roy Goode, an injured outlaw fleeing his former boss and mentor Frank Griffin because he can no longer tolerate Griffin's behavior. Michelle Dockery plays Alice Fletcher, an independent and aloof widow who manages a small ranch outside La Belle with her mother-in-law and adolescent son. Scoot McNairy is Bill McNue, the sheriff of La Belle, a town where nearly all the men died in a mining accident. Merritt Wever appears as Mary Agnes McNue, Bill's determined, pragmatic, and intrepid sister, who is the widow of the late mayor and has fallen in love with another woman, Callie Dunne.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays Whitey Winn, the young town deputy devoted to the sheriff and afraid of no one. Tantoo Cardinal portrays Iyovi, Alice's Paiute mother-in-law. Kim Coates is Ed Logan, an arrogant and abrasive company man who arrives in La Belle. Sam Waterston plays Marshal John Cook, the law in Santa Fe hunting Griffin.

Jeff Daniels portrays Frank Griffin, a menacing outlaw terrorizing the West. Tess Frazer appears as Callie Dunne, a former prostitute turned schoolteacher and lover of Mary Agnes. Samantha Soule plays Charlotte Temple, a nervous woman always in her Sunday best. Audrey Moore is Sarah Doyle, a randy woman in her thirties longing for male company.

Samuel Marty plays Truckee, Alice's son. Jeremy Bobb portrays A.T. Grigg, editor of the Santa Fe Daily Review obsessed with writing about the Griffin Gang. Adam David Thompson plays Gatz Brown, Griffin's right-hand man. Russell Dennis Lewis and Matthew Dennis Lewis portray the murderous twin brothers Daryl and Donnie Devlin in Griffin's gang.

Joe Pingue, Justin Welborn, and Keith Jardine play other gang members. Christiane Seidel appears as Martha Bischoff, a mysterious German woman. Nathan Darrow plays Webster, a Pinkerton agent searching for Martha. Kayli Carter, Russell G. Jones, and Randy Oglesby portray other residents of La Belle. Duane Howard plays Shoshone Brave, a mysterious figure trailing Bill McNue.

Production

The production ran from September 2016 through February 2017, with Santa Fe Studios as its base, though most filming happened on location across New Mexico. The 28-building town of La Belle was built at San Cristobal Ranch near Lamy. Other sites included Bonanza Creek Ranch, Santa Clara Pueblo, a spot near Abiquiú, Diablo Canyon, El Rancho de las Golondrinas, Cherry Meadow, Jemez Pueblo, and a Galisteo ranch. The series’ final shot, set in a fictionalized Atascadero, California, was actually filmed inland near Big Sur. Matthew Goode played the brother of Jack O’Connell’s character and shot a scene for the last episode’s ending, but it was removed.

Reception

The series received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 83% rating and an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 based on 80 reviews, with the critics consensus stating, 'Vistas and violence root Godless firmly in traditional Western territory, but its female-driven ensemble sets it apart in a male-dominated genre. Metacritic gave it a score of 75 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx reviewed it positively, noting that while the series does not find a happy middle, the storytelling excesses of the format make it more fun than a traditional movie version likely would have been.

Vanity Fair and The Washington Post included Godless on their lists of the best shows of 2017. The series received multiple award nominations, including at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, with Jeff Daniels winning Outstanding Supporting Actor and Merritt Wever winning Outstanding Supporting Actress.