Amazon's Outer Range is for Yellowstone fans who'd prefer it had a Lost vibe

Indiewire

"If you’re thinking that sounds weird, you’d be right," Kristen Lopez says of the Josh Brolin-led sci-fi Western series. "The actors, for the most part, try their hardest to strike at whatever they think their character arc is, with Josh Brolin being the standout, but it’s doubtful most will stick around to figure out what the hell this show actually is about." Lopez adds: "Josh Brolin has an Oscar nomination to his name, so it’s unsurprising that he is the MVP of this series. Whatever weird plot point the series throws at him, Brolin rolls with it. Whether he’s menacingly growling to a man that there 'aren’t any Fritos' in hell, riding a horse, or showing vulnerability with his granddaughter, Brolin draws your eyes to the screen. Even in the numerous moments where he’s just a quiet, intimidating presence, you want to watch him. So it’s a shame that he feels smothered by numerous other characters and plots, and doesn’t even get an opportunity to talk that often till the back half of the series when the giant hole needs to be explained."

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• Outer Range plays like an Old Testament version of The X-Files: "A metaphysical crime procedural set on the prairie, the new Prime Video series is both of the earth (quite literally) and into the beyond," says Chris Vognar. "It sprinkles bread crumbs like a series that expects to be around for a while, teasing viewers with unanswered questions and fantastical bits of darkness. At times it feels too eccentric for its own good; at others it’s not strange enough to keep the promises it makes. It’s campy and deadly serious. It has a hard time making up its mind, but it sure does deliberate in style."
• Outer Range is one of those series in which you can’t pinpoint its origin, but it strikes a nerve: "One of the great pleasures of Outer Range derives from the known yet unknown, or the comprehension of incomprehensible questions," says Robert Daniels. "For instance, in the premiere, after Perry beats Trevor to death, Royal disposes of Trevor’s body by dumping him into the hole. Where Trevor went baffles us and the authorities, and further drives a wedge between the Abbotts and Tillersons. In episode two, 'The Land,' Royal is pushed down the bottomless chasm, arriving in the future, in a scene recalling Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He awakens to a dark field surrounded by hostile townsfolk he once called his friends. Outer Range reveals these visions without giving away the roadmap, and part of the fun is deconstructing how fate and prophecy intertwine as the clues add up to genuine narrative shocks."
• Outer Range is an extended metaphor for television viewing circa 2022: "This story of a Wyoming family throwing things in a mysterious hole on their ranch is at least unintentionally savvy," says Daniel Fienberg. "It’s not a totally black void of entertainment, nor, however, is this eight-episode leap of faith immediately fulfilled."
• As engrossing as Outer Range is, it would be even more so if creator Brian Watkins didn't have such a thirst for incoherence: "His scripts are sometimes too laconic for their own good," says Glen Garvin. "And his penchant for a literal definition of film noir, bathing practically every scene in impenetrable darkness, as if Wyoming has outlawed any lightbulb stronger than 25 watts, is extraordinarily irritating. A couple of times he fixes his camera on that pit, where something is apparently going on, but you're never going to figure out what it is unless you download the Braille version."
• Outer Range feels like Syfy Channel series with a budget: "While Outer Range might bear the glossy aesthetic of upper-tier prestige television, its increasing collection of barely explained oddities positions it closer to a niche genre show," says Benjamin Lee, adding: "The oddities pile up thick and fast, both in the show’s scrappy plotting (which in some episodes feels less like plotting and more like a weird thing followed by a weird thing followed by another weird thing) and in how the story is told and performed, with one character repeatedly breaking into song to sing pop and soft rock classics, and other actors often resorting to long, overacted screams at the sky."
• Outer Range blends Yellowstone and The Outer Limits with just a dash of Twin Peaks: "Now, the shifting tones implied by such a mixture don’t always connect. In fact, they can feel quite disjointed," says Katie Rife. "But given that Outer Range is very much of the uncanny school of sci-fi, re-fashioning classic Western tropes — the mysterious drifter, the shootout on main street — to enigmatic ends, perhaps some off-putting qualities are appropriate."
• Outer Range works as a neo-western meets Twin Peaks -- at least early on: "For 30 years, showrunners inspired by Twin Peaks have tried to reproduce that show’s particular mix of small-town drama with supernatural surrealism in just about every genre out there with mostly terrible results," says Tara Bennett. "But how about a western? Outer Range is a brand-new drama from creator Brian Watkins, who attempts to marry the weirdness of David Lynch’s classic series with a contemporary western. That unusual mash-up of genres at least pings the interest meter more than most. And for three episodes, Outer Range lives up to its potential as a moody, metaphysical thriller that intriguingly pits two ranch families against one another when a series of mysterious occurrences happen on their land. Unfortunately, the tale loses its coherence, pacing, and interest halfway through its eight-episode first season."
• Imogen Poots is excited about Outer Range because it offered a potentially more complex character arc than a two-hour movie: "There was a sense of wondering, without going too far out, what it would be like to live your life as someone who is metaphysical, and as someone who really feels everything," she says. "I would play moments where you might think her intention is actually quite sweet, yet you could also interpret it as something sexual. The muddling of those emotions, the trickery of it, is what made it so fun. However, I was also nervous — what if an audience watches and says it’s confounding in the wrong way?"
• Josh Brolin see similarities between Outer Range and Will Smith's The Slap: “It’s behaviorally fascinating, if you’re able to take the judgement out of it and be somewhat objective,” says Brolin, days after presenting at the Oscars. “The parallel to our show is what people will do under extraordinary circumstances, and how many choices do you have when you’re confronted with the unknown.” Asked what appealed to him about his character, Royal Abbott, he proclaims, 'The Secret,' alluding to the mystery at the series’ center. “I’m not a big secret guy, especially now," he says. "I think I was before, and I think I understand what that is. The tone (it sets) as a paternal force — it’s not determined all by Royal, but is dictated by him. And you see how that affects in a very negative way everyone in the family.”