The History Channel is putting together its own How The West Was Won-style all-star Western for its next miniseries. It will focus on Texas and will feature a cast about as big as the state.
Texas Rising will focus on the Texas Revolution and the creation of the Texas Rangers. Bill Paxton, who starred in History’s hit Hatfields & McCoys, is set to play Sam Houston, who is considered the father of Texas, notes Entertainment Weekly. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Crash) will also star as a member of the Texas Rangers with a link to the Comanche Native Americans.
Those two are just part of the huge list of stars recruited for the show. Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Thomas Jane, Olivier Martinez, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Rapaport and Max Thieriot have also been cast, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields) is directing from scripts by Leslie Greif, Darrell Fetty and Ted Mann. Geif, who also worked on Hatfields, is the executive producer. Thinkfactory is producing, along with A+E Studios and ITV Studios America.
The History Channel has had surprising success with its original programming. Hatfields was a critical hit, earning five Emmys and averaging 14.3 million viewers. The Bible and Vikings have built on that success.
Texas Rising will run eight hours and is expected to air next year.
image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
