Hatfields & McCoys (miniseries)
{{Short description|2012 American miniseries}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Hatfieldsmccoys2.jpg
| caption = Poster
| genre = Docudrama
| creator =
| based_on =
| writer =
| director = Kevin Reynolds
| starring = {{Plainlist |
}}
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer = John Debney
Tony Morales
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_episodes = 3
| producer = Kevin Costner
Darrell Fetty
Herb Nanas
| cinematography = Arthur Reinhart
| editor = Don Cassidy
| runtime = 290 minutes
| company = History
ThinkFactory Media
Sony Pictures Television
| network = History Channel
| first_aired = {{Start date|2012|05|28}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2012|05|30}}
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| screenplay = Ted Mann
Ronald Parker
| story = Bill Kerby
Ted Mann
| budget =
}}
Hatfields & McCoys is a 2012 American three-part Western television miniseries based on the Hatfield–McCoy feud produced by History Channel. The two-hour episodes aired on May 28, 29, and 30, 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-05-24/hatfields-and-mccoys-costner-paxton/55193902/1 |title=Hatfields & McCoys |work=History |access-date=May 30, 2012 |date=May 24, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528110633/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-05-24/hatfields-and-mccoys-costner-paxton/55193902/1 |archive-date=May 28, 2012 }}
Premise
The miniseries recounts the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys (as well as the allies to both families), starting during the Civil War in 1863 and extending into the early years of The Reconstruction.
Cast and characters
=Main=
{{cast listing|
- Kevin Costner as William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield
- Bill Paxton as Randolph "Randall" McCoy
- Matt Barr as Johnson "Johnse" Hatfield
- Tom Berenger as Jim Vance
- Powers Boothe as Judge Valentine "Wall" Hatfield
- Andrew Howard as "Bad" Frank Phillips
- Jena Malone as Nancy McCoy
- Sarah Parish as Levicy Hatfield
- Lindsay Pulsipher as Roseanna McCoy
- Ronan Vibert as Perry Cline
- Noel Fisher as Ellison "Cotton Top" Mounts
- Joe Absolom as Selkirk McCoy
- Boyd Holbrook as William "Cap" Hatfield
- Tom McKay as Jim McCoy
- Sam Reid as Tolbert McCoy
- Jilon VanOver as Ransom Bray
- Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy
}}
=Recurring=
{{cast listing|
- Damian O'Hare as Ellison Hatfield
- Greg Patmore as Elias "Good 'Lias" Hatfield
- Andy Gathergood as Skunkhair Tom Wallace
- Noah Taylor as Lark Varney
- John Bell as Billy "Audie" Bempsey
- Max Deacon as Calvin McCoy
- Jack Laskey as Sam McCoy
- Jonathan Fredrick as Jefferson McCoy
- Michael Jibson as Phamer McCoy
- Chad Hugghins as Harmon McCoy
- Tyler F. Jackson as Bud McCoy
- Katie Griffiths as Alifair McCoy
- Rebecca Calder as Martha McCoy
- Nick Dunning as Reverend Garrett
- Alixandra Fuchs as Kate Schoonover
- Michael Woods as Cat Miller
- Robert Moran as John B. Floyd
- Joy McBrinn as Betty Blankenship
- Jon Bloch as TC Crawford
}}
Production
The miniseries was History's first aired scripted drama{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-05-24/hatfields-and-mccoys-costner-paxton/55193902/1 |title=History comes out shooting with 'Hatfields & McCoys' |last=Memmott |first=Carol |date=May 24, 2012 |work=USA Today |access-date=May 28, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528065904/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-05-24/hatfields-and-mccoys-costner-paxton/55193902/1 |archive-date=May 28, 2012 }} (the network had previously produced a scripted miniseries in 2011, The Kennedys, but decided against airing it in the United States).{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/history-channel-pulls-kennedys-last-69529 |title=EXCLUSIVE: History Channel Pulls 'The Kennedys'; Says Controversial Miniseries 'Not a Fit' |last=Belloni |first=Matthew |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 7, 2010 |access-date=7 January 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108115449/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/history-channel-pulls-kennedys-last-69529 |archive-date=8 January 2011 }}
Although the story is set in the Appalachians in West Virginia and Kentucky, the miniseries was shot in Romania, just outside Brașov with the Carpathians standing in for the Appalachians.{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys/videos/romania-becomes-appalachia#romania-becomes-appalachia |title=Hatfields & McCoys: Romania Becomes Appalachia |work=History Channel |access-date=June 21, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026173311/http://www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys/videos/romania-becomes-appalachia |archive-date=October 26, 2012 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWwtQsB4mJ0 |title=Interview with Kevin Costner on the set of 'Hatfields & McCoys' in Romania |website=YouTube |access-date=June 21, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524012112/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWwtQsB4mJ0&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=May 24, 2012 }}
=Music=
The score for the series was composed by John Debney and Tony Morales, with additional music by Kevin Costner and Modern West. The soundtrack features vocals performed by Lisbeth Scott on The Long Road Down.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 7.34/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Hatfields and McCoys is a violent and gritty spectacle that perhaps takes itself too seriously."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hatfields-mccoys|title=Hatfield and McCoys: Season 1 (2010)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=May 10, 2020}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/tv/hatfields-mccoys/season-1/critic-reviews |title=Hatfields & McCoys |work=Metacritic |access-date=2012-05-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530074035/http://www.metacritic.com/tv/hatfields-mccoys/season-1/critic-reviews |archive-date=2012-05-30 }}
Linda Stasi of the New York Post commented:
{{cquote|When I first heard about it, my thought was: Why? But that was before I sat through all six hours of this intense saga. Most miniseries this long tend to lose steam somewhere between the beginning of Night 1 and the middle of Night 2. Not this one...The miniseries is full of stand-out performances from great actors... But it's the guys you may not know who will blow you away.{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/loathe_thy_neighbor_YZZZY2nRJKFcJz69Jc0N8J |title=Loathe thy neighbor. 'Hatfields & McCoys' no hillbilly joke. |last=Stasi |first=Linda |date=May 27, 2012 |work=New York Post |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529053559/http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/loathe_thy_neighbor_YZZZY2nRJKFcJz69Jc0N8J |archive-date=May 29, 2012 }}}}
Entertainment Weekly{{'s}} Ken Tucker gave the series a B+, stating: "In stretching the tale over three nights, the pacing sags at times, and recriminations can get repetitive. It also doesn't help that Reynolds shot the miniseries in that perpetual sepia tone that gives everything a faux-antique look. But overall, Hatfields & McCoys is engrossing, and enlightening about a feud that proves to be a lot more than the bumpkin brawl of pop legend."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20596214,00.html |title=TV Review – Hatfields & Mccoys (2012) |last=Tucker |first=Ken |date=May 25, 2012 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531214326/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20596214%2C00.html |archive-date=May 31, 2012 }} Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote:
{{cquote|Although deftly nailed into its time and place with sets and costumes so vivid you can smell the blue wood smoke and the stink of moonshine sweat, Hatfields & McCoys transcends the confines of its age by revealing the feud's posturing, resentments and callous violence that mirror the dynamics of modern urban gangs... It isn't a perfect piece{{mdash}}when faced with a choice between historic detail and story, Hatfields & McCoys errs on the side of detail, which is both the series' greatest strength and weakness.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-hatfields-20120528,0,3652904.story |title=Review: 'Hatfields & McCoys' has vivid detail, fine acting |last=McNamara |first=Mary |date=May 28, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531082108/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-hatfields-20120528%2C0%2C3652904.story |archive-date=May 31, 2012 }}}}
Among the negative critics was Verne Gay of Newsday who called the series "violent and dull", adding:
{{cquote|What's not to like about Hatfields & McCoys? Simple: the story. It's an uninteresting one, peopled with almost criminally bland characters. In fact, as portrayed here{{mdash}}quite possibly accurately{{mdash}}they're a bunch of bibulous knuckleheads who shoot at each other year after year{{mdash}}or on TV, hour after hour{{mdash}}and have no real idea why. It's an interminable eye-for-eye, tooth-for-tooth narrative.{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/hatfields-and-mccoys-it-s-a-bland-feud-1.3741579 |title="Hatfields and McCoys": It's a bland feud |last=Gay |first=Verne |date=May 25, 2012 |work=Newsday |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531120654/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/hatfields-and-mccoys-it-s-a-bland-feud-1.3741579 |archive-date=May 31, 2012 }}}}
Washington Post{{'}}s Hank Stuever also gave a negative review:
{{cquote|The point of the entire saga, it seems, is to make you lose track of what the feudin' was about, and how it managed to burn out of control. It will always be tempting to view their story through any modern analogy of one's choosing{{mdash}}such as partisan political stalemates or the red-blue socioeconomic divide. But maybe the story of the Hatfields and McCoys doesn't amount to anything at all. Maybe, since it also doesn't make much of miniseries, it was meant to be a footnote and nothing more.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/hatfields-and-mccoys-brawlers-in-the-holler/2012/05/24/gJQAxF9gpU_story.html |title="Hatfields & McCoys": Brawlers in the holler |last=Stuever |first=Hank |date=May 25, 2012 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531215440/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/hatfields-and-mccoys-brawlers-in-the-holler/2012/05/24/gJQAxF9gpU_story.html |archive-date=May 31, 2012 }}}}
=Ratings=
Part one drew the largest ever ratings for a History program and one of the biggest in cable TV history. 13.9 million viewers tuned into the first of three parts, making it the most-watched single broadcast on ad-supported cable ever, excluding sports. Demographic numbers were high as well, with 4.8 million viewers in the adults 18–49 demographic and 5.8 million viewers among adults 24–54.{{cite web|last=Porter |first=Rick |url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/hatfields-and-mccoys-makes-ratings-history-for-history-channel.html |title=Hatfields & McCoys makes ratings history for History Channel |publisher=Zap2it |date=29 May 2012 |access-date=30 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530223252/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/hatfields-and-mccoys-makes-ratings-history-for-history-channel.html |archive-date=30 May 2012 }} Part two was watched by 13.13 million viewers with an adult 18–49 rating of 3.7, the highest rated programming on cable of the night.{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/31/tuesday-cable-ratings-hatfields-mccoys-wins-night-nba-playoffs-tosh-0-deadliest-catch-workaholics-real-housewives-more/136322/ |title=Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Hatfields & McCoys' Wins Night, NBA Playoffs, 'Tosh.0', 'Deadliest Catch', 'Workaholics', 'Real Housewives' & More |last=Bibel |first=Sara |date=May 31, 2012 |work=TV by the Numbers |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601173248/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/31/tuesday-cable-ratings-hatfields-mccoys-wins-night-nba-playoffs-tosh-0-deadliest-catch-workaholics-real-housewives-more/136322/ |archive-date=June 1, 2012 }} Part three was watched by 14.29 million viewers with an adult 18-49 rating of 4.0, making it the number-one program of the night.{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/31/wednesday-cable-ratings-hatfields-mccoys-nba-playoffs-hardcore-history-restaurant-impossible-melissa-joey-daily-show-more/136370/ |title=Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Hatfields & McCoys' Wins Night, NBA Playoffs, 'Hardcore History', 'Restaurant Impossible', 'Melissa & Joey' 'Daily Show' & More |last=Bibel |first=Sara |date=May 31, 2012 |work=TV by the Numbers |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603035356/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/31/wednesday-cable-ratings-hatfields-mccoys-nba-playoffs-hardcore-history-restaurant-impossible-melissa-joey-daily-show-more/136370/ |archive-date=June 3, 2012 }}
=Accolades=
Hatfields & McCoys received 16 nominations at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, the most since the History Channel began operations.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/emmys/la-et-st-emmys-hatfields-mccoys-20120720,0,6354479.story |title=Emmys: 'Hatfields & McCoys' feud draws 16 nominations |last=Braxton |first=Greg |date=July 19, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=July 20, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720050922/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/emmys/la-et-st-emmys-hatfields-mccoys-20120720%2C0%2C6354479.story |archive-date=July 20, 2012 }}
Home video release
The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats on July 31, 2012. The bonus material includes a music video of "I Know These Hills" from Kevin Costner and Modern West from their album Famous for Killing Each Other: Music From and Inspired By Hatfields & McCoys.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Hatfields-McCoys-Press-Release/17031 |title=Hatfields and McCoys (mini-series) — Sony's Official Press Release for the Just-Aired History Channel Series |last=Lambert |first=David |date=June 1, 2012 |work=TVShowsOnDVD.com |access-date=June 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604001211/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Hatfields-McCoys-Press-Release/17031 |archive-date=June 4, 2012 }}
Effect on tourism
According to WYMT-TV in Hazard, Kentucky, the series has generated an increase in tourism to the area from people wanting to know about the feud. Pike County Tourism Vice Chair Reed Potter said, {{cquote|It's been beyond our expectations. We've been getting requests for brochures that tell about the feud sites and places people can visit at a rate today last I checked of about two per minute.{{cite web|url=http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Tourism_increases_after_Hatfield-McCoy_mini-series_156017795.html|title=Tourism increases after Hatfield-McCoy mini-series|last=Burks|first=Whitney|date=May 31, 2012|work=WYMT-TV|access-date=June 1, 2012}}}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121029192252/http://www.thestoryofthemccoys.com/ The Story of the McCoys] Barry McCoy Author, Hatfield McCoy Feud Historian and Official Spokesperson for the McCoy Family. The Story of the McCoys {{ISBN|978-0-615-67030-0}}
- {{IMDb title|1985443|Hatfields & McCoys}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120601233227/http://www.wvgazette.com/Entertainment/201205250244 TV series on Hatfield-McCoy feud aims for accuracy]
{{Kevin Reynolds}}
{{Satellite Award Best Miniseries or Television Film}}
{{History films}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfields and McCoys (miniseries)}}
Category:2012 American television series debuts
Category:2012 American television series endings
Category:2010s American drama television miniseries
Category:American biographical series
Category:History (American TV channel) original programming
Category:Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series
Category:Television shows filmed in Romania
Category:Television shows set in Kentucky