Oh man. One of the best ever. Maybe the best ever. Brilliant writing. Milch writes mainly in iambic pantameter, so it is a little like listening to Shakespeare with profanity. The language flows like Shakespeare because of the rhythmic sound of iambic pantameter, but the words, other than the swearing, are more akin to James Joyce writing about working class Dublin. Not that Joyce’s characters didn’t use profanity, but Milch raises it to an art.
Most of the characters are loosely based on real people who inhabited Deadwood in the 1870s. Milch takes artistic license with their stories, but it’s in a good cause.
The acting is top notch across the board too. Ian McShane in particular among the male characters shines but they all are excellent. In his second role in the series, playing Francis Walcott, Garret Dillahunt, makes your skin crawl every time he is on screen. But, the women really make the show. Whether they are whores, schoolteachers, a business woman or Calamity Jane, they are three dimensional and the actresses are uniformly terrific. The minor characters are fleshed out, not caricatures. W. Earl Brown as Dan Doherty is especially good.
36 episodes over 3 seasons. Should be available on HBO Now. I watched all 36 in the last week, preparing for the movie. You won’t find anything better.
