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 premiered on Epix on April 24, 2022. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season split into two parts.^[1] The first part premiered on the rebranded MGM+ on October 15, 2023,^[2] with the second part premiering on June 2, 2024.^[3] In October 2024, the series was renewed for a third and final season.^[4]

Billy the Kid
Title card for the first season
Genre	Western
Created by	Michael Hirst
Starring	Tom Blyth Eileen O'Higgins Daniel Webber Alex Roe
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Michael Hirst Donald De Line Darryl Frank Justin Falvey Otto Bathurst (season 1) Toby Leslie (season 1) Rola Bauer
Producer	Nick Iannelli
Production location	Alberta
Cinematography	Ronald Paul Richard Paul Sarossy
Running time	45–54 minutes
Production companies	Amblin Television One Big Picture (season 1) De Line Pictures MGM Television MGM+ Studios
Original release
Network	Epix
Release	April 24 (2022-04-24) – June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)
Network	MGM+
Release	October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15) – present

Cast and characters

Main

• Tom Blyth as Henry McCarty / Billy the Kid
  • Jonah Collier portrays a young Henry McCarty
• Eileen O'Higgins as Kathleen McCarty (season 1; guest season 2)
• Daniel Webber as Jesse Evans
• Alex Roe as Sheriff Pat Garrett (season 2; guest season 1)

Recurring

Tunstall-McSween Faction & Lincoln County Regulators

• Luke Camilleri as Alexander "Alex" McSween (seasons 1–2)
• Horatio James as Charlie Bowdre
• Brendan Fletcher as George Coe
• Nuria Vega as Dulcinea del Tobosco
• Veronica Long as Manuela Bowdre
• Lisa Chandler as Susan "Sue" McSween (season 2; guest season 1)
• Benjamin Sutherland (guest season 1) and Linus Roache (season 2) as John Tunstall
• Josh Cruddas as Fred Waite (season 2)
• Reilly Dolman as Richard "Dick" Brewer (season 2)
• Tom Carey as John Middleton (season 2)
• Pepe Johnson as Tom O'Folliard (season 2)
• Javier Lacroix as Juan Patrón (season 2)
• Josh Zaharia as Diego Patrón (season 2)

Murphy-Riley Faction & Jesse Evans Gang

• Sean Owen Roberts as Bob Olinger
• Dakota Daulby as John Beckwith (seasons 1–2)
• Ian Tracey as Frank Baker (seasons 1–2)
• Vincent Walsh as Major Lawrence Murphy
• Shaun Benson as John Riley
• Chad Rook as James Dolan (season 1; guest season 2)
• Bill MacDonald as Sheriff William Brady (seasons 1–2)
• Mark Krysko as Andrew "Buckshot" Roberts (season 2)
• Quentin Schneider as William Morton (season 2)

Other

• Zak Santiago as Sheriff Saturnino Baca
• Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen as Edgar Walz (season 2)
• David Cubitt as Thomas Catron (season 2)
• David LeReaney as Judge John Wilson (season 2)
• Ty Olsson as Colonel Nathan Dudley (season 2)

Guest

• Joey Batey as Patrick McCarty (season 1)
• Leif Nystrom and Nash Nystrom as Joe McCarty (season 1)
• Timothy Webber as Moss (seasons 1–2)
• Jamie Beamish as Henry Antrim (season 1)
• Ryan Kennedy as Ash Upson (season 1)
• Michael Adamthwaite as Alias (season 1)
• Christie Burke as Barbara Jones (season 1)
• Guillermo Alonso as Melquiades Segura (season 1)
• Siobhan Williams as Irene Riley (season 1)
• Jason Burkart as Sam Wortley
• Ty Provost as José Chávez (season 1)
• Jasmine Vega as Ana Baca (season 2)
• Guilherme Babilônia as Yginio del Tobosco (season 2)
• Manuel Uriza as Antonio del Tobosco (season 2)
• Ana-Maria Alvarado as Isabella del Tobosco (season 2)
• Iván López as José (season 2)
• Kurtis Sanheim as Lieutenant George Smith (season 2)
• Andrew David Long as Dr. Clay (season 2)
• Sage Kitchen as Alice Clay (season 2)
• Jason Cermak as Huston Chapman (season 2)
• Anthony Lemke as Governor Lew Wallace (season 2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released	Network
1	8		April 24, 2022 (2022-04-24)	June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)	Epix
2	8	4	October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)	November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)	MGM+
		4	June 2, 2024 (2024-06-02)	June 23, 2024 (2024-06-23)

Season 1 (2022)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"The Immigrants"	Otto Bathurst	Michael Hirst	April 24, 2022 (2022-04-24)
12-year-old Billy McCarty and his immigrant Irish family have to leave New York and travel west to seek new opportunities. But the journey proves fatal for some.
2	2	"The Rattler"	Otto Bathurst	Michael Hirst	April 24, 2022 (2022-04-24)
Kathleen and her sons travel on to Santa Fe. Life is hard, but she meets and marries a man who might change everything for the better – only to find that he makes it a lot worse.
3	3	"Antrim"	Rachel Leiterman	Michael Hirst	April 24, 2022 (2022-04-24)
Antrim, Kathleen, and the two boys relocate to Silver City, trying to start a new life. But all their dreams are shattered, and Billy loses everything.
4	4	"Interlude"	Rachel Leiterman	Michael Hirst	May 1, 2022 (2022-05-01)
Billy falls in with a character called Alias. He kills a man in self-defense and ends up on the run, and then in the arms of a young woman who also happens to be the girlfriend of Jesse Evans. He becomes a wanted man in two counties.
5	5	"The Little Bit of Paradise"	Michael Nankin	Michael Hirst	May 8, 2022 (2022-05-08)
Billy ends up in Chihuahua, Mexico, with a new Mexican friend named Segura. Together, they enjoy several risky escapades, but in the end, Billy risks losing his life after killing a man.
6	6	"Fate"	Michael Nankin	Michael Hirst	May 15, 2022 (2022-05-15)
Billy bumps into Pat Garrett, who is riding with Jesse and the 7 Rivers Gang. Billy joins them, but lawmakers are already closing in. They plan to flee to Lincoln County, but not before Billy fulfils one last promise.
7	7	"At the House"	David Frazee	Michael Hirst	May 22, 2022 (2022-05-22)
Billy joins Jesse, Pat Garrett, and another outlaw called Frank Baker, as well as the rest of the 7 Rivers Gang in their new camp just outside the town of Lincoln, New Mexico. The gang is now working for Lincoln's most powerful boss, Irishman Major Murphy.
8	8	"The Rampage"	David Frazee	Michael Hirst	June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)
We are on the eve of the Lincoln County War. Jesse and the gang are encouraged by Murphy to ramp up their attacks on the farmers, mostly Mexican, who have signed up with rival businessman, the English man Mr. Tunstall.

Season 2 (2023–24)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
Part 1
9	1	"The Road to Hell"	Rachel Leiterman	Michael Hirst	October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)
War is brewing in Lincoln County between rival businessmen Murphy and Tunstall. After seeing the Irishman's brutal ways, Billy joins Tunstall in his battle to stop Murphy and the corrupt organization, the House. Even if it means being enemies with his best friend, Jesse. Attorney Mr. Catron sends his son-in-law, Mr. Waltz to gather information on Billy.
10	2	"Sickness"	Rachel Leiterman	Michael Hirst	October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22)
As Tunstall gets hospitalized with smallpox, he is visited by Mr. Waltz, who gives him an ultimatum; end his businesses in Lincoln County or be killed. When Jesse and his 7 Rivers Gang steal Deputy Brewer's horses, Billy and the sheriff track them down and arrest them. Thinking he can show Murphy a gesture of goodwill, Tunstall has his men spring them from jail. The plan backfires and the war ensues.
11	3	"The Agony"	David Frazee	Michael Hirst	October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29)
12	4	"The Day of the Dead"	David Frazee	Michael Hirst	November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)
Part 2
13	5	"A Debt Collected"	Adam Kane	Michael Hirst	June 2, 2024 (2024-06-02)
14	6	"The Plea"	Adam Kane	Michael Hirst	June 9, 2024 (2024-06-09)
15	7	"The Blood-Soaked Bible"	John Fawcett	Michael Hirst	June 16, 2024 (2024-06-16)
16	8	"An Invitation"	John Fawcett	Michael Hirst	June 23, 2024 (2024-06-23)

Production

Development

On May 4, 2021, it was announced that Epix greenlit the series for an eight-episode first season, which will be written and executive produced by Michael Hirst. It was also announced that Otto Bathurst will direct the first two episodes. Production companies involved with the series include Epix, MGM International TV Productions and Nordic Entertainment Group.^[5][6] On January 10, 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.^[1] On October 1, 2024, the series was renewed for a third and final season.^[4]

Casting

On May 13, 2021, it was announced that Tom Blyth had been cast in the series' lead role.^[7] On August 27, 2021, it was announced that Daniel Webber had been cast as Jesse Evans.^[8]

Filming

Principal photography for the series took place in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada.^[9]

Release

The first episode was screened in March 2022 at the Series Mania festival in Lille, France.^[10] The first season premiered in the United States on Epix on April 24, 2022. The first part of the second season premiered on the rebranded MGM+ on October 15, 2023,^[2] with the second part premiering on June 2, 2024.^[3]

In Australia, it was distributed by Stan.

In Canada and Latin America, it was made available to stream on Paramount+.

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 43% with an average rating of 5.90 out of 10.^[11]