WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for American Primeval.
Wild Bill Hickman is one of the few characters based on a real-life historical figure inAmerican Primeval.American Primevalis a new major Western streaming seriesthat was released on Netflix on July 17, 2025. The series takes place on the frontier of the American West in 1857, particularly in the somewhat lawless terrain of Utah.American PrimevalfollowsSara who has a $1500 bounty on her headasshe and her son seek the help of a loner frontiersman Isaac Reed for safe passage to Crooks Springs.
American Primevalwas written byMark L. Smith, who co-wrote the screenplay forThe Revenantwith Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights,Lone Survivor) directs all six episodes ofAmerican Primeval.Taylor Kitsch leads an ensemble cast, which featuresBetty Gilpin,Dane DeHaan,Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Shea Whigham, Lucas Neff, and Kim Coates. By theend ofAmerican Primeval, only a handful of the main characters are left alive as Brigham Young and Wild Bill Hickmantake control of Fort Bridger.
Wild Bill Hickman In Real-Life: Brigham Young’s Bodyguard & The Utah War
Wild Bill was baptized into the Latter-day Saints in 1839
Wild Bill Hickman (played by Alex Breaux inAmerican Primeval) was Brigham Young’s personal bodyguard during the time ofthe Utah War, which took place between May 1857 and July 1858. As a member of the Latter-day Saints,Wild Bill was baptized into the church in 1839 and was the bodyguard for Mormon founder Joseph Smithbefore Young became the group’s second-ever president. Hickman was born in Warren County, Kentucky but moved to Missouri with his family when he was four.
American Primeval True Story Explained: Accuracy & Changes
Netflix’s epic period Western series American Primeval is based on a handful of real-life events and historical figures with some altered details.
During the Utah War, Wild Bill carried out the will of Brigham Young to keep the threat of the U.S. government out of Utah Territory. That effort began withthe burning of Fort Bridger and also included several burnings of U.S. military supply trains, which technically made Wild Bill a wanted outlaw. He also executed a spy named Richard Yates (viaUtah History Encyclopedia). Before the Utah War, Wild Bill was also involved in the Battle at Fort Utah in 1850, which resulted in genocidal acts against the Timpanogos tribe and the beheading of their chief, Old Elk.
What Happened To Wild Bill Hickman
He was excommunicated from LDS in 1868
Despite Wild Bill’s loyalty to the Latter-day Saints, he was ultimately excommunicated in 1868, which resulted in nine of his ten wives leaving him. He was ostracized after making several attempts to defame Young and other members of the LDS.In 1871, Hickman was arrested for murdering Richard Yates but was granted immunityby the U.S. government for agreeing to testify against Young if he were ever brought to trial.
Hickman confesses to murdering dozens of people and blamed Young for ordering Yates' murder in his autobiography, which was published years after the events ofAmerican Primeval. He died in August 1883 at the age of 68.
American Primeval
Cast
American Primeval is a Netflix limited series that follows the lives of several men and women in the middle of the expansion of the American West. Social dynamics clash as men and women battle for a piece of the new world against rivals and each other.
