Miniseries · AMC
Broken Trail
THEY NEVER MEANT TO BE HEROES.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Robert Duvall
Prentice Ritter
2 eps
Thomas Haden Church
Tom Harte
2 eps
Greta Scacchi
Nola Johns
2 eps
Chris Mulkey
Big Ears
2 eps
Rusty Schwimmer
Big Rump Kate
2 eps
Gwendoline Yeo
Sun Foy 'aka' #3
2 eps
Valerie Tian
Ging Wa 'aka' #5
2 eps
Olivia Cheng
Ye Fung 'aka' #4
2 eps
Jadyn Wong
Ghee Moon 'aka' #1
2 eps
Donald Fong
Lung Hay
2 eps
Peter Skagen
Colonial Bartender
2 eps
Caroline Chan
Mai Ling 'aka' #2
2 eps
James Russo
Captain Billy Fender
2 eps
Andrew Tomarin
Loop
2 eps
David Trimble
Dink Yeatman
2 eps
Scott Cooper
Gilpin
2 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Broken Trail actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Broken Trail reads strongest on Bingeability, Character Depth and Serialized.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
The story is about an aging cowboy and his nephew who transport 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming to sell them to the British Army. Along the way, their simple horse drive is complicated when they rescue five Chinese girls from a slave trader, saving them from a life of prostitution and indentured servitude. Compelled to do the right thing, they take the girls with them as they continue their perilous trek across the frontier, followed by a vicious gang of killers sent by the whorehouse madam who originally paid for the girls.
Broken Trail weaves together two historical events: the British buying horses in the American West in the late 19th century and Chinese women being transported from the West Coast to the interior to serve as prostitutes.
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Robert DuvallExecutive Producer
- Rob CarlinerExecutive Producer
- Walter HillProducer
- Chad OakesProducer
- Damian GanczewskiProducer
- Stanley M. BrooksExecutive Producer
Writing
- Alan GeoffrionWriter
Direction
- Walter HillDirector
Cinematography
- Lloyd Ahern IIDirector of Photography
Music
- David MansfieldOriginal Music Composer
- Van Dyke ParksOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
Checking regional listings…
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
American Primeval
2025
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Hell on Wheels
2011
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Godless
2017
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Warrior
2019
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Deadwood
2004
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Lonesome Dove
1989
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Hatfields & McCoys
2012
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
1883
2021
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The English
2022
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Zorro
2024
Large-scale spectacle · Similar storytelling style
Shaka Zulu
1986
Character-driven drama · Large-scale spectacle
Little House on the Prairie
2026
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Teach You a Lesson
2026
Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
Vikings
2013
Another study of who holds the room — and who pays for it.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023
If the world-building is what held you, this is the next map to walk.
Lucky
2026
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
NCIS
2003
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Agent Kim Reactivated
2026
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation