‘Billy the Kid’: 5 things you need to know about EPIX romantic adventure series
The creator of past hits like "Vikings" and "The Tudors” Michael Hirst is now set to introduce his childhood hero in “Billy the Kid.” Starring Tom Blyth as the legendary gunslinger, this eight-episode series is co-produced by Epix Studios and MGM International Television Productions, in association with Viaplay. Billy the Kid was the notorious outlaw of the Wild West who wreaked havoc in the late 1800s. Quickly developing a reputation as a gun-slinging criminal, Billy the Kid led a short life, dying at age 21, but his legend only grew from then on. The man has been the subject of over 50 movies and now his story is set to release on the premium channel Epix, home to other shows like "Pennyworth," "Godfather of Harlem," and "Get Shorty.”
“It’s probably true that you shouldn’t meet your heroes; I have met a couple of mine and it didn’t go particularly well. But what I want more than anything else is for people to love this Billy,” Hirst tells Variety in Lille. “Michael [Wright, president of Epix] allowed me to tell a story I wanted to tell, which doesn’t happen very often. This show is saying to people: ‘You think you know Billy the Kid because you have heard his name.’ You think he is a bit of a rough guy, a gunman and a killer. But everything I am about to tell you is the exact opposite.”
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When will ‘Billy the Kid’ Season 6 release?
The project will premiere on April 24 on EPIX.
What is ‘Billy the Kid’ all about?
The series is described as an epic romantic adventure based on the life of Billy the Kid, also known as William H Bonney from his humble Irish roots and his early days as a cowboy and gunslinger on the American frontier, to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond.
Who's in the cast of ‘Billy the Kid’?
Billy will be played by Tom Blyth who was last seen in The Gilded Age. The series also stars Australian actor Daniel Webber who plays Jesse Evans, another famous outlaw and leader of the Seven Rivers Gang. Other cast include Eileen O'Higgins as Kathleen, Jonah Collier as young Billy and Joey Batey as Patrick McCarty.
Showrunners
Otto Bathurst is set to direct the first two episodes of the first season, which is executive produced by Michael Hirst, Donald De Line of De Line Pictures, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Amblin Television, and Bathurst and Toby Leslie via One Big Picture.
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