With Taylor Sheridan’s Season 2 of 1923 finally making its highly anticipated first episode debut on February 23, it is likely that many fans will search for something similar to keep their interest while they wait the week between new episode releases. For viewers who have already tuned in to Yellowstone and 1883, it may be time to give another historical drama series a shot.
Texas Rising is a five-episode miniseries that originally aired on the History network. It features Bill Paxton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson. The series follows the events of the Texas Revolution and provides some insight into how the Texas Rangers came to be. Although the show only has a 55% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and contains some historical flaws, fans of Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe will likely appreciate some of the similarities between the two.
The “Historical” Narrative of ‘Texas Rising’
Texas Rising tells the story of General Sam Houston (Bill Paxton), the man who led the Texan army to face off against Santa Anna (Olivier Martinez) and his approaching troops. The series begins after the Battle of the Alamo has already taken place. Fueled by revenge for their friends who died in the fight, General Houston’s troops, including Captain Deaf Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), retreat from Goliad in order to join forces with other soldiers in Victoria.
From here, the miniseries launches its viewers through various bloody battles, leaving little time between them. To provide contrast to the continuing fight, viewers also follow along with Emily D. West (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), one of the survivors of the Alamo who begins to spy on Santa Anna to gain information for the Texas Rangers. General Houston must win the battle against Santa Anna, and he and his soldiers are prepared to persevere through any condition and fight off any enemy who attempts to stand in their path.
Critics on the Portrayal of Characters Within ‘Texas Rising’
Despite the criticisms surrounding the writing of the characters, the actors themselves did not receive much of the blame. Multiple critics noted that the miniseries benefited from its casting. However, the actors’ star power was overshadowed at times due to the somewhat stereotypical way that the characters were written, with many of them coming across on the page as rowdy, tough, and a bit cartoon-like.
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The series also follows a large array of characters, and it struggles to give them enough time and depth within the short five-episode frame. This grows even more complex, considering that a majority of them are representative of real historical figures of the time period. Although there is some criticism surrounding the script behind the characters, both Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Ray Liotta (Lorca) picked up nominations for the Women’s Image Network Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, respectively.
Acknowledging the Inaccuracy of ‘Texas Rising’
Although Texas Rising will likely prove to be an entertaining watch for fans of the Yellowstone franchise, the series does not find its strength within historical accuracy. A majority of the criticisms that the miniseries received did not result from technical elements but instead from the series’ misrepresentation of the complexity surrounding the Texas Revolution. There are some points where Texas Rising reportedly presents groups of people as one-dimensional, failing to show the contrasting sides to the heavily dramatized conflicts at hand. This issue is mainly prevalent within the portrayal of the Mexican Army as well as the Indigenous groups that the Texas Rangers come into conflict with during their pursuit of Santa Anna.
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Despite those understandable criticisms, the series has been praised for its cinematography, sound design, and casting. This casting praise also extends to the hundreds of extras, who were effectively used to fill out the various battle scenes, adding to their impact by making them feel more real. However, the sound design and musical score are where Texas Rising seemed to find the most favor with critics, earning multiple nominations and awards in related categories. Some of these include a Golden Reel Award win for sound editing in television as well as three Emmy nominations for outstanding sound mixing, sound editing, and main title theme.
Even though Texas Rising sometimes struggles with its characters, the performances, camerawork, and sound design should be enough to encourage fans of the Western genre to give it a try. Texas Rising is available to stream on Prime Video. 1923 is available to stream on Paramount+.
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