American Primeval is the most popular Netflix show of 2025 so far! It's still early, but fans want to know if American Primeval season 2 is happening and what's next for the series from writer Mark L. Smith and director Peter Berg.
American Primeval starring Betty Gilpin and Taylor Kitsch premiered on Netflix on Jan. 9 and has been a huge hit for Netflix since then. The series follows Sara (Gilpin) on her journey West in 1857 with her young son, Devin (Preston Mota). After Sara and Devin are caught up in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Isaac Reed (Kitsch) tries to lead them to safety, but dangers lurk in these lands. The series was inspired by real events.
While the American Primeval ending doesn't necessarily set up a clear second season, there's definitely some story left to be explored in American Primeval season 2. It doesn't sound like Berg and Smith are interested in taking the story in that direction. They'd rather start "looking backwards" for the future of American Primeval.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Berg revealed that season 2, or a continuation of Sara's journey, is not likely because the story would need a significant time jump to accommodate the younger stars of the series, Mota and Shawnee Pourier, who stars as Two Moons in the series.
"Well, one of the challenges there is that Shawnee and Preston, the actors that played Two Moons and Devin, we had enough trouble because the strike got us. We had to shut down for five months, and Preston went full puberty on us and gained three inches [in height] and his voice dropped and he started having hair on his face. It would be a real big time jump to keep that crew going, but the idea of looking backwards is really interesting to me."
American Primeval prequel could tell Isaac's story before the Mountain Meadows Massacre
In the interview, Berg revealed that he's exploring the possibilities for a prequel series about Isaac Reed before running into Sara and Devin at the Mountain Meadows Massacre and helping lead them West along with Two Moons. When THR suggested Isaac would make a great prequel, Berg even confirmed a prequel about Isaac would be what they'd do if this project were to continue.
"We’re talking about it right now. Good pick. That’s the way we’d go if we do it, and I don’t know if we will, but that would be the way we would go."
Honestly, that's probably the ripest fruit to pick among a few good prequel ideas. I think a continuation about Brigham Young (Kim Coates) and his quest to carve out a space for the Mormon people could be interesting. I'd love to know how Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham) ended up at Fort Bridger, too. And, obviously, a series about Winter Bird (Irene Bedard) and the Shoshone people would also be great.
Isaac's story likely loops in all three of those stories, though. He had the richest backstory of any of these characters. In many ways, American Primeval is Isaac's story. He's one of the few characters who made a true choice to change throughout the series. Remember, his wife and child were murdered, and that's his main motivation for helping Sara and Devin. He couldn't change the past, but he could help Sara and Devin. His past with his wife and son, living with the Shoshone, and what happened to them completely shaped the arc of American Primeval.
So, I do think Isaac's journey to the West is the one that makes the most sense to explore.
We're still a long way from a prequel happening, but I do think we'll find out soon if it's going to happen at Netflix in the near future. We'll share more news about the possible prequel series when we find out.