''Red Bird'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single ...

. Created by Misti Boland and Jeremy Osbern, the series stars Alexandra Goodman, Ian Stark,

Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author. Early life Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painter Herbert Shimerman. When he wa ...

, Kitty Swink,

Mike McShane Michael McShane is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian. He appeared on the original British television show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' (1988–97) and went on to appear in films such as '' Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1 ...

, and John Prosky. The series of eight three to five minute episodes premiered on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

and the show's website in March 2016.

Tubefilter Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. Tubefilter is best known for Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, pro ...

, in their Indie Spotlight, described the series as "a female revenge tale featuring Kitty Mae, who is seeking to get even with the gunman who killed her only son in cold blood."

The Daily Dot ''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...

issued a positive review of the series, noting that from "costumes to locations to an original soundtrack that has presence and bite, it looks and sounds just as you’d imagine the creators—husband and wife Jeremy Osbern and Misti Boland—desired it." But the reviewer also longed for more time with each episode, stating that episodes "are centered around single set pieces or scenes that although well-scripted and shot, are short, mostly coming in at around three minutes." ''Red Bird'' was shot on location and on sets in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

and incorporated real horses, authentic old west set pieces, and practical gunshot and blood effects.

History

The story is loosely based on the

Lawrence massacre The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was an attack during the American Civil War (186165) by Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing a ...

of 1863, when William Quantrill murdered upwards of 200 men and boys in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2020 census ...

. Osbern and Boland cited living in Lawrence and reflecting on the history of

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

as an inspiration for creating the series.

Cast

* Alexandra Goodman as Kitty Mae * Ian Stark as Thomas *

as Max * Kitty Swink as Mary * Michael McShane as Sam * John Prosky as Bloody Bill

Episodes

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt5320828
Exclusive Interview with Director Misti Boland for Web Series ‘RED BIRD’

A conversation with the creators of 'Red Bird,' a new kind of Western

Spotlight: Misti Boland , Red Bird

Inside The 'Red Bird' Series
Crowdfunded web series 2016 web series debuts Western (genre) web series American drama web series YouTube original programming