Netflix has given a straight-to-series order for a new adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove,” reviving one of the most decorated westerns in television history nearly four decades after its original publication. Teton Ridge Entertainment, which controls the rights to McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and its sequels, is producing alongside co-showrunners Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart, who just finished work on Netflix’s upcoming “East of Eden” limited series based on the John Steinbeck classic.
The new version follows former Texas Rangers Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call as they leave behind lives grown restless and set out on one last cattle drive, pushing a herd from the Rio Grande north into Montana’s unclaimed frontier. Netflix describes the journey as a chase after a dream the two men may have already outlived, built around themes of longing, loyalty and frontier violence that defined McMurtry’s original 1985 novel.
Kazan and Stuart called the project a chance to honor characters they’ve long admired. “We come to this material with love and respect, and can’t wait to hit the trail with Gus and Call and the rest of these beloved characters,” the pair said in a joint statement. Jillian Share, president of Teton Ridge Entertainment, said the story’s scope and its portrait of the American West made it worth revisiting for a new generation of viewers.
“Lonesome Dove” already has a towering television legacy. CBS turned the novel into a four-part miniseries in 1989 starring Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover and Diane Lane, drawing roughly 26 million viewers and winning a Peabody Award along with seven Emmys and two Golden Globes. That success spawned a string of follow-ups, including “Return to Lonesome Dove,” “Streets of Laredo,” “Dead Man’s Walk” and “Comanche Moon,” along with a syndicated series in 1994. None matched the original’s cultural footprint.
Teton Ridge first acquired the film and television rights to the “Lonesome Dove” franchise in February, then spent months securing the tangle of rights tied to the property before bringing the package to Netflix this spring. Diana Ossana, McMurtry’s longtime writing partner, is attached as an executive producer. No casting has been announced.
