Kevin Costner Promises to ‘Captivate’ and ‘Shock’ with New Docuseries about America’s Wild West (Exclusive)
“It’s time to come face to face with the real story of our wild past,” Costner says in the trailer for the eight-part series, which premieres on May 26
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Kevin Costner Promises to ‘Captivate’ and ‘Shock’ with New Docuseries about America’s Wild West (Exclusive)
“It’s time to come face to face with the real story of our wild past,” Costner says in the trailer for the eight-part series, which premieres on May 26
By Lizzie Hyman Published on April 15, 2025 10:00AM EDT
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Kevin Costner
‘Kevin Costner’s The West’. Photo: Carlos Jaramillo/A+E Networks
If you’re looking for a warts-and-all inside look at the history of the American West, Kevin Costner has you covered.
At 70, the Oscar-winning director and actor steps both behind the scenes as executive producer and in front of the camera as host of the upcoming eight-part docuseries Kevin Costner’s The West.
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer for the HISTORY channel series, premiering May 26, which explores the fierce battles over land that defined the American frontier — and how its legacy continues to shape the nation today.
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“What do we see when we think of the West?” Costner asks at the beginning of the trailer.
“The West is a place where anything is possible,” Esteemed biographer and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, co-executive producer of the series, says. “It is the essence of the American dream.” Historian Ned Blackhawk adds, “The American West conjures wonder, possibility, opportunity.”
While the trailer reflects on the hope and ambition tied to westward expansion, it doesn’t shy away from its harsh realities. “Many people have to pay the price of ambition and westward expansion,” American history expert Ed O’Donnell notes. “Everyone is willing to fight — and die — for it.” Author and activist Yohuru Williams adds, “American forces have a sense of superiority. The Native Americans are going to prove them deadly wrong.”
