Untamed (TV series)

Untamed
Genre
Created byMark L. Smith
&
Elle Smith
ShowrunnersMark L. Smith
&
Elle Smith
Written byMark L. Smith
&
Elle Smith
Directed by
Starring
Music byJeff Russo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerKevin Human
Cinematography
  • Michael McDonough
  • Brendan Kuroki Uegama
Editors
  • Ryan Jones
  • Tyler Eversmann
  • Garret Donnelly
  • Debra Beth Weinfeld
Running time42–51 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17) –
present

Untamed is an American drama murder mystery television series for Netflix set in Yosemite National Park starring Eric Bana, Lily Santiago, Rosemarie DeWitt and Sam Neill. It was released on July 17, 2025, on Netflix. In July 2025, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

In the vast expanse of Yosemite National Park, a woman's death draws a federal agent into lawless terrain, where nature obeys no rules but its own.[1]

Cast

Main

  • Eric Bana as Kyle Turner, a National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB) special agent at Yosemite National Park who is still grieving the loss of his young son six years prior
  • Sam Neill as Paul Souter, the chief park ranger of Yosemite and Turner's mentor
  • Rosemarie DeWitt as Jill Bodwin, Turner's ex-wife, a realtor who used to be an elementary school teacher
  • Lily Santiago as Naya Vasquez, a rookie National Park Service ranger who moved to Yosemite from Los Angeles and is assisting Turner with the alleged murder victim, Lucy
  • Wilson Bethel as Shane Maguire, the wildlife management officer at Yosemite and a former Army Ranger

Recurring

  • William Smillie as Bruce Milch, a veteran park ranger at Yosemite
  • Raoul Max Trujillo as Jay Stewart, a colleague and an indigenous friend of Turner who provides insights into local symbols and heritage
  • Joe Holt as Lawrence Hamilton, the park superintendent, focused on public image amid the crisis
  • Josh Randall as Scott Bodwin, Jill's current husband, who is a dentist
  • Ezra Franky as Lucy Cook, the alleged murder victim known initially as Jane Doe, with a complex backstory involving abuse and disappearance
  • Nicola Correia-Damude as Esther Avalos, a lawyer pressuring Turner over the disappearance of Sean Sanderson, who went missing 6 years ago
  • Trevor Carroll as Mr. Begay

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code
1"A Celestial Event"Thomas BezuchaMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25151
During a horseback ride with his son Caleb, National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB) special agent Kyle Turner is called to investigate the death of a young woman, dubbed Jane Doe, whose body falls off El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Turner meets rangers Milch and rookie Naya Vasquez to examine the scene, noting injuries suggesting she was chased after an attack by an animal, and was tattooed with an X on her wrist in gold. Turner discovers bloody footprints and a beaded bracelet, but drops it; they leave to report back to Chief Park Ranger Paul Souter and Park Superintendent Lawrence. Turner recovers the bracelet that night and calls his ex-wife, Jill, to reminisce over their family at a meteor shower; Jill, now remarried, rebuffs him. Vasquez, a former Los Angeles cop and single mother, is partnered with Turner, and they discover carved symbols in an abandoned shack, Doe's shoes, and a bullet casing, revealing a bullet wound on Doe. Jill confronts Turner at his house over the call, and becomes worried about Turner's involvement in the case. Turner connects the bracelet to a park camp program from the past. Turner and Jill watch a meteor shower separately, revealing that their son Caleb died six years ago.
2"Jane Doe"Thomas BezuchaMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25152
Turner discovers a bottle of pills marked with the same gold X on Doe's trail, while Souter reveals a box to Vasquez full of the beaded bracelets similar to Doe's. Turner confronts Teddy, a park employee and pot dealer, over the pills, and coerces him into finding more information. Souter attempts to convince Turner to take a job at a different park. Turner is met at his house by Avalos, an investigator inquiring about Sean Sanderson, whose disappearance and subsequent investigation were headed by Turner six years prior, immediately after Caleb's death. Turner and Vasquez travel to a plot of park inhabited by squatters to investigate the pills; Vasquez discovers a girl hiding information about Doe. Turner confronts Shane Maguire, a wildlife manager, about the potential coyote attack on Doe, before shooting Shane's rifle to compare casings. Vasquez ignores texts from Michael, her son Gael's father, while Teddy asks a local tattoo artist about the gold Xs, which causes Teddy to be strangled later that night. At a wedding anniversary party for Paul, Milch reveals to Vasquez that Caleb was kidnapped and murdered in the park. Vasquez and Turner discover both Teddy's body and Jane Doe's identity, Lucy Cook.
3"El-o'-win"Nick MurphyMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25153
Turner and Vasquez explore Lucy's Native American heritage and previous disappearance in 2007, an investigation which Turner oversaw, revealing she ran from her abusive father, Rory, after her mother's death. Turner consults his friend Jay, a Native American, for insights into Miwok symbols she carved. Turner and Vasquez chase and question Lucy's half-brother James, which proves fruitless. Maguire's rifle is excluded from having caused Lucy's wound. While hooking up with a hotel employee, Turner reveals suicidal urges to rejoin Caleb. Avalos confronts Jill about the Sanderson case, quietly upsetting her. Turner questions the tattoo artist to no avail, while Vasquez rides alone and discovers a secret mine, but becomes trapped. Turner eventually saves her, strengthening their bond; their discovery of a respirator mask at the mine implies a larger drug network.
4"Gold Rush"Nick MurphyMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25154
Turner and Vasquez further investigate the mine, finding the body of Abuelo, one of the squatters, outside. Turner brings rangers into the squatter camp and discovers more pills; they arrest several of them. At the station, DNA results reveal Rory wasn't Lucy's father, and Turner interviews a kid who claimed to know Lucy from a foster home in Nevada. Vasquez investigates the girl hiding information about Lucy, and learns Lucy lived among the squatters and ran drugs, developing a romance with "Terces" ("secret" spelled backwards). Vasquez and Gael return home to find Michael, the father, who facetiously charms Gael but demands that Vasquez testify to the LAPD's IA to exonerate Michael of stealing cash. Vasquez agrees, but secretly escapes with Gael. Meanwhile, Turner confronts Maguire over the pills and Abuelo's death; Maguire retorts by mentioning that he spoke to Avalos about Sanderson. Souter pulls Turner away; he returns home to find Vasquez and Gael. Jill agrees to watch Gael while Turner and Vasquez search for the drug base of operations.
5"Terces"Neasa HardimanMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25155
Turner, Vasquez, and other federal agents find and assault the base, arresting two workers while killing others. While they find several dead women similarly tattooed, the suspects reveal no knowledge of Lucy's death, which Turner accepts. Michael arrives at Turner's house and finds Jill and Gael. A hostile confrontation escalates between Michael and Jill before Turner arrives and detains him. Jill is disturbed, not by the fight but by her jealousy of Vasquez's motherhood, leading to an attempted suicide using pills from Maguire. After visiting Jill at the hospital, Turner goes to the hotel and publicly assaults Maguire over the suicide attempt, leading to his suspension. While turning over his investigation materials to the FBI, Turner finds a phone in Lucy's belongings and travels to the morgue to unlock it. After doing so, he looks through videos and discovers a video revealing "Terces" to be Maguire. Turner travels armed to Maguire's camp to confront him. After Turner discovers more pills, Maguire shoots him with a rifle, and a chase ensues.
6"All Trails Lead Here"Neasa HardimanMark L. Smith & Elle SmithJuly 17, 2025 (2025-07-17)T13.25156
After several hours, Maguire confronts Turner after he runs out of bullets, revealing that Turner's actions have broken a deal between the two of them and Jill. Before he can kill Turner, Vasquez arrives and kills Maguire; Turner passes out but is successfully hospitalized. While Turner recovers, Jill returns home and confesses to her husband that Sanderson was the man who abducted and killed Caleb six years ago, and that while Turner still wanted to pursue legal justice, Jill betrayed him and paid Maguire to blackmail and kill Sanderson. Jill and Turner embrace in the hospital, reconciling over Caleb and promising to keep themselves alive. Avalos pesters Turner again, but Turner agrees to admit he was of unsound mind during Sanderson's investigation so that Avalos may sue the park for wrongful death. Despite Maguire's death and Souter's objections, Turner continues to pursue the case and travels to Nevada to investigate the foster home. The daughter of the foster mom reveals Lucy was dropped off around the time of her disappearance, and that Lucy would claim her father was a cop. Turner meets Souter in the park to reveal both his findings and a reissuing of Lucy's DNA results after Turner found Souter had meddled with the initial findings. This forces Souter to admit he was Lucy's father, and that when Lucy resurfaced, she demanded money from Souter and eventually abducted his granddaughter. Souter pursued Lucy with a rifle and accidentally shot her, setting in motion the events that led to her death. Turner demands Souter take responsibility, but Souter instead kills himself. Following this, Turner leaves Vasquez his horse and decides to part ways with the park finally.

Production

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television and studio-based John Wells Productions. It is written by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith who are also co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Eric Bana, who also stars, John Wells and Erin Jontow via John Wells Productions, Todd Black and Tony Shaw for Escape Artists Entertainment, Steve Lee Jones for Bee Holder Productions, and Cliff Roberts for Syndicate Entertainment.[2] Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, Rosemarie DeWitt and Wilson Bethel joined the cast in June 2024.[3][4][5] Filming for the series began in Vancouver, British Columbia in June 2024.[6][7] Filming locations included Chip Kerr Park.[8]

On July 29, 2025, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.[9]

Release

Untamed premiered on July 17, 2025.[10]

Reception

Audience viewership

Untamed ranked first on Netflix's English-language TV list for the week of July 14 to 20, drawing 24.6 million views.[9] For the second week in a row, the series was ranked first again on Netflix's English-language TV list from July 21 to 27, drawing 26.1 million views.[11]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating based on 61 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Wrangled by Eric Bana's steady star power, Untamed's solid murder mystery is elevated by the visually sumptuous backdrop of its Yosemite National Park milieu."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 62 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]

Rebecca Onion of Slate said, "Bana and Smith know how to keep you watching, even when parts of the story start to feel familiar. In the summer, we're all tourists. A Yosemite story hits just right."[14] Reviewing the series for The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson gave a rating of 3/5. She described it as "not the smartest of thrillers, but those mountains sure are lovely to look at."[15] Ben Travers of IndieWire gave a critical review with a C- and wrote, "By the end, Untamed can only offer more of the same, despite ample opportunity to provide something 'different'."[16]

References

  1. ^ Peralta, Diego (June 21, 2024). "This 'Jurassic Park' Star Just Joined Mystery-Thriller 'Untamed'". Collider. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 12, 2024). "Eric Bana to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'Untamed' From Mark L. Smith, Elle Smith (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 21, 2024). "Sam Neill Joins Eric Bana In Netflix Limited Series 'Untamed'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Hailu, Selome (June 24, 2024). "Lily Santiago and Wilson Bethel Join Eric Bana in Yosemite Murder Series 'Untamed' at Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 21, 2024). "Rosemarie DeWitt Joins Netflix Limited Series 'Untamed'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Vardhan, Harsh (April 9, 2024). "Eric Bana's Netflix Series 'Untamed' Begins Filming in Vancouver in June". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Gittins, Susan (June 26, 2024). "Netflix's UNTAMED Series With Eric Bana & Sam Neill is in Production in British Columbia". Hollywood North Buzz. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Penner, Patrick (August 12, 2024). "Netflix mystery series 'Untamed,' starring Eric Bana, seen shooting at Chip Kerr Park last week". Tri-Cities Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (July 29, 2025). "'Untamed' Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  10. ^ "'Untamed' Starring Eric Bana - First Look & Date Announcement" (Press release). Netflix. May 12, 2025 – via The Futon Critic.
  11. ^ Campione, Katie (July 29, 2025). "'Untamed' Leads Netflix English TV List Again As 'The Hunting Wives' Puts Up Impressive Debut; 'Happy Gilmore 2' & 'KPop Demon Hunters' Dominate Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  12. ^ "Untamed: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  13. ^ "Untamed: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  14. ^ Onion, Rebecca (July 17, 2025). "Untamed Hits Just Right". Slate. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (July 17, 2025). "Untamed review – Eric Bana's national park thriller is as beautiful as it is totally predictable". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  16. ^ Travers, Ben (July 17, 2025). "'Untamed' Review: Eric Bana Squanders Grand Terrain in Netflix's Tedious, Yosemite-Set Mystery". IndieWire. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.