Billy the Kid (TV Series)

Billy the Kid is an American Western drama television series created by Michael Hirst set in the 19th-century American Old West. It stars Tom Blyth as outlaw and gunfighter Billy the Kid. The series dramatizes the character's legacy, drawing on a large ensemble to bring its Western setting to the screen. It premiered on Epix on April 24, 2022. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season split into two parts. Part one premiered on the rebranded MGM+ on October 15, 2023, with part two set to premiere on June 2, 2024. The show is an audience favorite, with an overall 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. While critical reviews are more mixed, it's been mentioned that the MGM+ drama will appeal to fans of the Western genre. Blyth's performance was also singled out as a positive, with critics noting that the actor brought a different side to the well-known outlaw. Along with Blyth, the cast of Billy the Kid includes Eileen O’Higgins, Daniel Webber, Alex Roe, Brendan Fletcher, Linus Roache, and Reilly Dolman. Behind the camera, the Western is created by Michael Hirst. Billy the Kid season 2 takes creative liberties with historical accounts, changing details about Billy's family, friends, and love interests. Throughout the first four episodes of the MGM+ series Billy the Kid, the show offers a somewhat honest retelling of the legendary Old West outlaw William H. Bonney. There are several critical pieces of information depicted in Billy the Kid that differ from historical accounts of the actual events surrounding Bonney's life and legendary affairs as a notorious gunslinger. While most of Billy the Kid's earliest years before adolescence were undocumented and thus unknown today, the MGM+ series takes several plausible creative leaps to fill in the blanks on Billy's days as a youth traveling with his family from New York City in the 1860s. The Billy the Kid true story mostly centers on his various crimes, murders, and legacy as a well-known fugitive during his brief 21-year life. Billy the Kid season 2, episode 1 offers a thoughtful interpretation of how Billy's change of heart and moral awareness turned him away from longtime friend Jesse Evans. Billy the Kid season 2, episode 2 sees Billy's final attempt at finding common ground with Jesse, although the depiction in the MGM+ series diverts from historical accounts for the sake of the narrative. Both Billy the Kid season 2, episode 3 and Billy the Kid season 2, episode 4 chronicle several of the historical battles Billy took part in against Jesse in the violent Lincoln County War.