Kevin Costner’s New 8-Part Prime Video Series “Stole” From Iconic Westerns

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The team making Kevin Costner’s new Western series drew inspiration from classic films in the same genre.

Kevin Costner is teaming up again with collaborators from his History Channel series Hatfields and McCoys – Darrell Fetty and Leslie Greif – to executive produce The Gray House. Joining him as an executive producer is Morgan Freeman, another Academy Award winner. This marks Costner’s first Western series since Yellowstone. The eight-episode show tells the true story of four women from the South who transformed an existing Underground Railroad into a spy network supporting the Union army during the Civil War.

I recently read a fascinating interview with Leslie Greif and Lori McCreary over at ScreenRant about their new show, The Gray House. They were talking about what inspired the show’s Western feel, and it turns out the writer had worked with the director, Rolland Joffé, before on Texas Rising. He mentioned they spent two whole weekends just watching a ton of classic Westerns and Civil War movies to get the right vibe – he even called them “marathons” of films, and said they were all “famous favorites!” It’s cool to hear how much research and passion went into shaping the show’s style.

Greif playfully said Joffé’s work “genius steals,” but McCreary corrected him, explaining it was more of a respectful nod to other well-known films in the genre. Greif then complimented Joffé for being a director who focuses on visual storytelling—showing the story through action and images—rather than relying on interviews or talking heads.

We had to improvise and creatively acquire resources to make this project happen. Many filmmakers today focus on directing actors at the camera. Roland, however, encourages actors to connect with the camera itself. This approach creates a sense of scale and grandeur, and I believe it’s a key reason why this work stands out.

When creating Texas Rising, it was natural for the filmmakers, Greif and Joffé, to draw inspiration from classic Westerns. The 2015 miniseries focused on the well-known and often-depicted period of American history surrounding the fall of the Alamo, but it differed from other adaptations by examining what happened afterward. The battle itself has been portrayed in numerous films and TV shows, including the 1960 John Wayne film of the same name and the 2004 movie starring Billy Bob Thornton.

I’m really excited about The Gray House because it feels totally different from what Greif and Joffé did with Texas Rising. This story – about four women who fought against slavery, played by Mary-Louise Parker, Daisy Head, Hannah James, and Amethyst Davis – hasn’t been told on screen before. It seems like the creators are taking inspiration from both Westerns and spy thrillers, which should make for a really unique series!

Greif didn’t name the movies the series borrowed from, but he and McCreary suggested a few to ScreenRant as good preparation for The Gray House. First on their list was Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales, which Greif described as a sort of backstory to the show. McCreary also mentioned the classic film Glory, starring Morgan Freeman, noting it told a true story that hadn’t been explored much before 1989, and that both films touched on “the moral cost of war.”

Because Costner participated heavily in developing The Gray House, meeting with the creators and co-writer John Sayles, it demonstrates the wide variety of Westerns the show could draw inspiration from. Costner’s filmography includes everything from lighthearted movies like Silverado to serious dramas such as Dances with Wolves and Open Range. If he influenced the director’s vision for the eight-episode series, the team may have taken ideas from a surprisingly large number of sources.

The Gray House begins streaming on Prime Video on February 26.

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2026-02-18 18:08