Netflix is producing the Coen Brothers' first television project, a Western called The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Joel and Ethan Coen are developing a mini-series set on the American frontier, Variety. The show, set to premiere on Netflix next year, will feature six tales with each chapter telling a different story about the American West.
The Coens will executive produce, write and direct the project, along with Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle's Annapurna Television and long-time Coen Brothers collaborator Robert Graf. The Coen brothers released a statement about the show saying: "We are streaming motherf-ers!"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So far, very little information has been released about The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, but the series will star Tim Blake Nelson in the title role of Buster. Nelson is best known for his role as Delmar O'Donnell in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
"The Coens are visionary directors, masterful storytellers and colourful linguists," said Cindy Holland, Netflix's vice president of original content.
The brothers' last feature film was Hail, Caesar!, a homage to 1950s Hollywood. The pair have also written scripts for Unbroken, Bridge of Spies and Suburbicon for Angelina Jolie, Steven Spielberg and George Clooney.
As Netflix expands its original programming, the company has been "attracting big names in both film and TV", says Lizzie Plaugic of The Verge. David Fincher is developing a Netflix series called Mindhunter, while Ava DuVernay is working on her second project with the streaming service, a miniseries about the Central Park Five.
Other notable film directors in the streaming arena include Woody Allen (Crisis in Six Scenes), Baz Luhrmann (The Get Down) and David O. Russell, who is developing a drama series for Amazon.
Ian Leslie, writing in the Financial Times, says we are living in a "golden age" of television with HBO, Netflix and Amazon "in a creative race to the top".
The newer cable and streaming services may not offer talent like the Coens the prestige and budget of a big broadcaster or movie studio, but could offer them "freedom", Leslie says. This has enabled an industry "once regarded as an artistic wasteland" to transform itself into "the most prolific source of new stories".
But "golden ages come to an end", warns Leslie, so we should watch shows like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs while they last.
-
Why is the Trump administration talking about ‘Western civilization’?Talking Points Rubio says Europe, US bonded by religion and ancestry
-
Quentin Deranque: a student’s death energizes the French far rightIN THE SPOTLIGHT Reactions to the violent killing of an ultraconservative activist offer a glimpse at the culture wars roiling France ahead of next year’s elections
-
Secured vs. unsecured loans: how do they differ and which is better?the explainer They are distinguished by the level of risk and the inclusion of collateral
-
February TV brings the debut of an adult animated series, the latest batch of ‘Bridgerton’ and the return of an aughts sitcomthe week recommends An animated lawyers show, a post-apocalyptic family reunion and a revival of a hospital comedy classic
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
The 8 best horror series of all timethe week recommends Lost voyages, haunted houses and the best scares in television history
-
The 8 best comedy movies of 2025the week recommends Filmmakers find laughs in both familiar set-ups and hopeless places
-
The best drama TV series of 2025the week recommends From the horrors of death to the hive-mind apocalypse, TV is far from out of great ideas
-
The 8 best drama movies of 2025the week recommends Nuclear war, dictatorship and the summer of 2020 highlight the most important and memorable films of 2025
-
The 8 best comedy series of 2025the week recommends From quarterlife crises to Hollywood satires, these were the funniest shows of 2025
-
A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
