Westerns have been riding hard back onto the big screen over the past few years, and it looks like TV is the next fertile ground for the genre. This year alone we’ll have Scott Frank‘s “Godless” on Netflix and “The Son” on AMC, and now the Coens are getting in on the game.
The duo are set to write and direct “The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs,” which will aim to have both a television and film component. Details are pretty thin on the ground at the moment, but Annapurna‘s television division are shepherding the project that, according to Variety, will feature six storylines that will intersect. Exciting stuff, particularly for the duo who showed a fine hand at the form with “True Grit.”
It’s pretty amazing to see how much the ground has shifted in the industry when it comes to television. As early as a few years ago, you could probably expect a strong handful of directors to turn down the notion of ever lowering their art to debuting on the small screen. But now, if they want to tell original stories, the medium is proving to have both the finances and creative freedom to bring them to life. And, as the case might be for the Coens, allow filmmakers to play with the format, blending television and film.
No word yet on when production might begin, but we can’t wait to hear more about this.