Discovery, Redford Firm Producing New Series ‘The West’

Discovery Channel said it is in production of a new factual series, The West, produced by Robert Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn's Sundance Productions, who recently produced Discovery Channel's Emmy Award nominated documentary All the President's Men Revisited, and Stephen David Entertainment, known for its two-time Emmy Award winning series, The Men Who Built America.

The West "will provide unprecedented access into the wilderness, frontier lawlessness, and bloodshed of the 40 years between the end of the American Civil War and after the turn of the 20th Century, when the west was won," the companies said in a release.

"The West will expose the triumphs, tragedies and legendary characters who gave rise to the taming of the American West," Eileen O'Neill, group president of Discovery and TLC Networks, said in the release. "We are excited to partner with Stephen David Entertainment and again with Robert Redford and Sundance Productions to bring these enduring stories to Discovery."

"The stories of the American West are epic and profound with some of the biggest, most renowned and mythologized characters," Redford and Michalchyshyn, partners in Sundance Productions, said in the release. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Stephen David to bring this series to the world."

"From Jesse James and Crazy Horse to Wyatt Earp and Buffalo Bill, the characters at the center of this violent, blood-soaked period in American history are explored," the release said. "Each episode of The West will follow the stories and struggles of the West's most infamous outlaws as they fight for their land and identity. The American Dream belonged to those brave enough to claim it and The West encapsulates the world of chaos, turmoil and opportunity during the notorious fight for the American west.

DRG, an independent distributor of content representing a host of internationally recognized production companies, acquired international rights to distribute The West outside of North America.