Netflix lassoes in a new Lonesome Dove adaptation

Western-addled owners of Cowboy+ Teton Ridge Entertainment, which acquired the rights to the novel in 2025, lassoed in Kazan for scripting duties and brought the adaptation out to market in April, where Netflix ultimately won out in a “very competitive situation.” Why we’re only hearing about this now is because the streamer had to iron out some of the novel’s stickier rights issues before it “could proceed with the greenlight,” which Deadline says it’s now done. “After our singular experience on East Of Eden, we are thrilled to be teaming with Netflix again, along with Teton Ridge Entertainment, to bring Larry McMurtry’s western classic to life,” Kazan and Stuart said in the announcement. “We come to this material with love and respect, and can’t wait to hit the trail with Gus and Call and the rest of these beloved characters. Yee-haw.”

Yee-haw, indeed. And for the tenderhearted (and possibly correct) folks out there who feel that the Peabody-winning series with Duvall and Jones is good enough a live-action Dove as any is like to get, just remember these words: “Yesterday’s gone on down the river and you can’t get it back,” for we may be in for a hell of a new vision yet. In the meantime, Shout! Studios has posted the first episode of Lonesome Dove on their YouTube channel, which we can all gather ’round and watch right now, if’n that’s a thing one wants to do.