Deadwood

Production

The first book that the show's creator, David Milch, purchased as research for the series was Deadwood: The Golden Years by Watson Parker, a historian who specialized in the history of the Black Hills. Milch and his colleagues later bought many of Parker's books and papers as references for Deadwood.

Writing

Milch has pointed out repeatedly in interviews that the intent of the show was to study the way that civilization comes together from chaos by organizing itself around symbols (in Deadwood the main symbol is gold). Initially, he intended to study this within Roman civilization (the central symbol was to be the religious cross), but HBO's Rome series was already in development, and Milch was asked by the network if he could stage the story in another place. Although the series touches on a variety of issues including race, prostitution, violence, alcohol, politics, and immigration, most of the major story lines are grounded in the issue of bringing order from chaos.

From its debut, Deadwood drew attention for its extensive profanity. The historical accuracy and dramatic intent of its use of obscenities has been the subject of controversy and discussion. The word "fuck" is said 43 times in the first hour of the show. It has been reported that the series had a total count of 2,980 "fucks" and an average of 1.56 utterances of "fuck" per minute of footage.

Plot

Season 1 (2004)

The first season takes place in 1876, six months after the founding of the camp, soon after Custer's Last Stand. Seth Bullock leaves his job as a marshal in Montana to establish a hardware business in the gold-mining camp of Deadwood, along with his friend and business partner, Sol Star. Wild Bill Hickok, the infamous gunslinger of the west, is on a separate journey to Deadwood, accompanied by Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane. Al Swearengen is the owner of The Gem, a local saloon and brothel. Other notable residents include Dr. Amos Cochran, A. W. Merrick, owner and editor of the local newspaper "The Pioneer", and E. B. Farnum, proprietor of The Grand Central Hotel.

Bullock encounters a man of an unknown name, who claims that Indians had killed an immigrant family along the road, and he and Hickok along with others ride out to investigate. Swearengen at his saloon offers bounties for Indian scalps, in apparent revenge for the murders, and discounts on booze and women. Bullock and Hickok investigate and find the wagon turned over and all but one of the immigrant family killed. Before sunrise they confront the unknown man and point to holes in his story, saying the raid appeared to be a setup by whites. When he draws his weapon both men draw in defense, and Hickok's bullet kills him. Swearengen wakes to hear of these new events as told by Farnum, and is particularly unhappy hearing that one of the immigrant party survived, suspecting that his road agents may have been responsible for the raid.

Brom Garret, a wealthy businessman from New York City, lives at The Grand Central Hotel with his wife, Alma, who nurses a secret laudanum habit. Aware that Garret is interested in prospecting, Swearengen and Farnum deceive him into purchasing a gold claim in a confidence game. Newly arrived Cy Tolliver and his entourage purchase an abandoned hotel across from The Gem and begin renovations, then open the Bella Union Saloon, a luxurious gambling house and brothel. Brom Garret soon learns that his gold claim is worthless and demands Swearengen reimburse his money. Swearengen orders Dan Dority to kill Garret and "make it look like an accident." Dority throws Garret off a cliff, only to discover that the claim is actually a rich one after all. Newly widowed Alma Garret asks Wild Bill Hickok for guidance regarding the gold claim and Swearengen's renewed interest. Hickok asks Bullock to advise Garret; Bullock agrees. Bullock suggests that Garret hire Whitney Ellsworth, a trustworthy and experienced prospector. Alma Garret takes custody of young Norwegian speaking Sofia Metz, whose family was murdered on the way back to Minnesota.

Season 2 (2005)

Season two begins in 1877, seven months after the events of season 1, and the camp has become somewhat more orderly and civilized.

When Swearengen publicly disparages Bullock's abilities as sheriff, intimating that Bullock's focus is not on his job due to his affair with Alma Garret, Bullock removes his gun and badge and Swearengen and Bullock fight, accidentally falling over the Gem balcony. Al is about to slit Bullock's throat in the muddy street, but stops after looking up to see Bullock's wife Martha and her son William arriving in camp. Bullock tells Alma they must either leave camp or stop seeing one another. Garret agrees that it is better to end the relationship and remain in town. Calamity Jane resurfaces and manages to support Bullock and Utter in persuading Swearengen to return Bullock's gun and badge. A truce is made. Garret discovers she is pregnant by Bullock and confides in Trixie, who persuades Ellsworth to make a marriage proposal to Garret and influences Garret to accept the proposal in order to save her the humiliation of unwed motherhood.

Swearengen collapses in his office with the door locked. His concerned associates assume that he wants to be left alone, but as the day passes their alarm grows and they finally break into the office. Dr. Cochran diagnoses Al with kidney stones and performs a draining procedure. Swearengen eventually passes the stones but has a small stroke in the process.

Joanie Stubbs opens her own brothel, The Chez Amis, with her newly arrived partner Maddie. Francis Wolcott, a geologist working for George Hearst, arrives in Deadwood and soon makes his presence felt at the Chez Amis. Wolcott has paid for the transportation of most of the prostitutes, in order to cater to his selective tastes. Cy Tolliver learns of Wolcott's sexual proclivities and baits him, resulting in Wolcott murdering Carrie and Doris, two of Joanie Stubb's prostitutes. When Maddie attempts to extort money from Wolcott, he kills her too. Cy Tolliver has the bodies removed and pardons Wolcott. Joanie sends the remaining girls away so that they will be safe from Wolcott. Joanie confides in Charlie Utter regarding the murders, extracting a promise that he never repeats the information.

Alma fires Miss Isringhausen, Sofia's tutor. Isringhausen turns to Silas Adams under the pretext of fear for her life at the hands of the Widow Garret, and they embark upon a relationship. Isringhausen convinces Adams to allow her to meet with Swearengen. At the meeting, she admits to being an agent of the Pinkertons under the employ of Brom Garret's family, who instructed Isringhausen to frame Alma for soliciting Swearengen to murder her husband. Swearengen agrees to play along, but later reveals to Garret that he intends to blackmail Isringhausen due to his hatred for the Pinkerton agency.

Season 3 (2006)

Season three begins less than six weeks after the events of season 2. Government and law, as well as the interests of powerful commercial entities, begin to enter the town as Deadwood prepares itself for entry into Dakota Territory.

Hearst has several of his own Cornish miners murdered when they attempt to unionize. Elections are announced: Star and Farnum run for Mayor, while Bullock and barman Harry Manning compete for Sheriff. Angered that Hearst had someone killed in the Gem, Al cancels the election debates in an attempt to reassert his position in the camp. To teach Al a lesson and force him to help Hearst buy Alma's claim, Hearst has his lead henchman Captain Turner restrain Al, then chops off one of his fingers.

Over Ellsworth's strong objections, Alma meets with Hearst to discuss buying her claim. Hearst becomes furious when she offers him a merely non-controlling interest and behaves menacingly towards Alma, but then allows her to leave without following through on his implied threat of rape.

Tolliver slowly recovers after being stabbed and gets back on his feet. Hearst knows Cy is lying about having a letter from Wolcott but decides to employ Cy to help deal with the members of the camp. Traveling actor Jack Langrishe arrives in Deadwood with his theatre troupe. He is an old friend of Swearengen's and eventually buys the former Chez Amis (now a school house) from Joannie Stubbs on condition that he build a new school for the camp's children. Alma undergoes a D & C by Doc Cochran when her pregnancy threatens her health.

Hostetler and Samuel Fields return to the camp to find that Steve has taken over the livery. Bullock mediates between them, eventually getting Hostetler to agree to sell the Livery to Steve. Steve's ranting, racial slurs and impugning of Hostetler's honor finally drive the latter over the edge and he shoots himself.

Another miner is killed. Already angry from the Hostetler/Steve ordeal, Bullock arrests Hearst, drags him by the ear through the public thoroughfare and puts him in jail overnight.

Alma is once again using dope. Leon confesses to Cy that he is Alma's supplier. Cy relays this news to Hearst but Hearst is still angry from his encounter with Bullock and believes that if Tolliver had told him this useful news beforehand he might not have provoked the sheriff. A furious Tolliver tells Leon to do nothing, but Leon, afraid of being implicated in Alma's murder, has already cut her off. Suspecting that Alma's return to drugs is due to her unhappiness at being married to a man she doesn't love, Ellsworth moves out of their house. They later agree to separate and Alma is able to stop taking the laudanum.

Deadwood: The Movie (2019)

In 1889, past and present residents of Deadwood are reunited to celebrate South Dakota's impending entrance into the Union as the 40th state.

Film continuation

Following the cancellation of the series, it was reported on June 7, 2006, that HBO and creator David Milch had agreed to make two two-hour television films in place of a fourth season, after Milch declined a short-order of six episodes. This was because in the show's original format, each season portrayed two weeks in the life of Deadwood, with each episode representing one day. The final two-hour format would release these time restraints and allow for a broader narrative to finish off the series. In an interview on January 13, 2007, Milch stated that he still intended to finish the two films, if possible. On July 12, 2007, HBO executives admitted that producing the telefilms would be difficult and put the chances of their ever being made at "50–50".

In an interview on October 1, 2007, actor Ian McShane claimed that the show's sets were due to be dismantled, and the movies would not be made; however, he was referring to the show-related set pieces, i.e., front added to the buildings, props, etc., the set as itself, "Melody Ranch", being unchanged at least as of 2010. Actors Jim Beaver and W. Earl Brown commented a day later that they considered the series to be over. During the March 17, 2009, episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, McShane repeated that "Deadwood is dead." In a January 14, 2011, interview in Esquire, Milch said: "I don't know that the last word has been said on the subject ... I still nourish the hope that we're going to get to do a little more work in that area." In a March 21, 2012, interview, Milch was asked if the movies would ever be produced and replied, "No, I don't think so. We got really close about a year ago. Never say never, but it doesn't look that way."

On August 12, 2015, it was reported that talks between HBO and Milch had resumed regarding a Deadwood film. In January 2016, HBO gave Milch the green-light to write a script for the film. On August 1, 2016, Casey Bloys, HBO's new head of programming, stated that Milch was writing the script for a Deadwood movie. On April 19, 2017, McShane announced that Milch submitted a script for a two-hour Deadwood movie to HBO, saying: "[A] two-hour movie script has been delivered to HBO. If they don't deliver [a finished product], blame them." McShane said that he hoped to discuss the film with Milch further, and said of the original cast returning that "we'd all love to do it ... It would be nice to see all of the old gang again." On November 12, 2017, TVLine reported that the Deadwood movie was set to begin production in fall 2018, although HBO had not officially green-lit the project.

Reception

Critical response

Deadwood received widespread praise from critics over the course of its three-year run. On Metacritic, the first season has an 80 out of 100 score sampled from 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season scored 93 out of 100 based on 15 critics, and third season scored 85 out of 100 based on 20 critics, both indicating "universal acclaim", with only one mixed review of the third season coming from Newsday's Verne Gay.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 85% based on 40 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Deadwood's absorbing first season presents a vivid, un-sanitized depiction of a frontier town that stakes its claim alongside other classic entries in the Western genre." The second season has an approval rating of 96% based on 24 reviews, with an average score of 9.5/10. The critical consensus reads, "Amid the grit and lawlessness, season two of Deadwood offers a richly textured portrait of an Old West community buoyed by its talented ensemble cast." The third season has an approval rating of 95% based on 39 reviews, with an average score of 9/10. The critical consensus reads, "Deadwood's final season ends with a frustrating lack of closure, but that ambiguous final note doesn't detract from an outstanding series that ranks among the best the genre has to offer."

The praise generally centered on the strength of the writing and Milch's unique style of dialogue. Time Out New York's Andrew Johnston listed Deadwood in his top ten TV shows for both 2005 and 2006, commenting: "If history is written by the victors, Deadwood is all about giving the losers their due. In the first season, magnificent bastard Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) came off as a villain; this year, his inevitably doomed campaign to save the lawless town from annexation by the United States and exploitation by robber barons served as a brilliant allegory for the evolution of American capitalism." Film critic Matt Zoller Seitz considers Deadwood to be "the greatest TV show ever" and he wrote a 2022 book detailing the making of the series titled The Deadwood Bible: A Lie Agreed Upon. Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall listed Deadwood as the ninth greatest series of all time in their TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time.

Music

Opening credits

The Deadwood title music was composed by David Schwartz. According to his website, Schwartz lists the following instruments as having been used: fiddle, cavaquinho, Weissenborn, guitar, harmonium, duduk, and kitchen pots.

Closing credits

The closing credits music is listed below:

"Hog of the Forsaken" – Michael Hurley

"Creek Lullaby" – Margaret

"Twisted Little Man" – Michael J. Sheehy

"Fallen From Grace" – Mark Lee Scott

"God and Man" – Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry

"High Fever Blues" – Bukka White

"Old Friend" – Lyle Lovett

"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" – June Carter Cash

"Stars and Stripes Forever" – Jelly Roll Morton

"Hog of the Forsaken" – Michael Hurley

"Snake Baked a Ho'cake" – Mike, Peggy, Barbara, and Penny Seeger and their children

"Farther Along" – Mississippi John Hurt

"Not Dark Yet" – Bob Dylan

"Business You're Doin'" – Lightnin' Hopkins

"Skin and Bones" – Ann Rabson

"The Fox" – Bill Staines

"Life Is Like That" – Big Bill Broonzy

"Pretty Polly" – Hilarie Burhans

"A Prayer" – Madeleine Peyroux