The miniseries recounts the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys (as well as the allies to both families), starting during the Civil War in 1863 and extending into the early years of The Reconstruction.
The miniseries was History's first aired scripted drama[2] (the network had previously produced a scripted miniseries in 2011, The Kennedys, but decided against airing it in the United States).[3]
Although the story is set in the Appalachians in West Virginia and Kentucky, the miniseries was shot in Romania, just outside Brașov with the Carpathians standing in for the Appalachians.[4][5]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 7.34/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Hatfields and McCoys is a violent and gritty spectacle that perhaps takes itself too seriously."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]
When I first heard about it, my thought was: Why? But that was before I sat through all six hours of this intense saga. Most miniseries this long tend to lose steam somewhere between the beginning of Night 1 and the middle of Night 2. Not this one...The miniseries is full of stand-out performances from great actors... But it's the guys you may not know who will blow you away.[8]
Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker gave the series a B+, stating: "In stretching the tale over three nights, the pacing sags at times, and recriminations can get repetitive. It also doesn't help that Reynolds shot the miniseries in that perpetual sepia tone that gives everything a faux-antique look. But overall, Hatfields & McCoys is engrossing, and enlightening about a feud that proves to be a lot more than the bumpkin brawl of pop legend."[9] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote:
Although deftly nailed into its time and place with sets and costumes so vivid you can smell the blue wood smoke and the stink of moonshine sweat, Hatfields & McCoys transcends the confines of its age by revealing the feud's posturing, resentments and callous violence that mirror the dynamics of modern urban gangs... It isn't a perfect piece—when faced with a choice between historic detail and story, Hatfields & McCoys errs on the side of detail, which is both the series' greatest strength and weakness.[10]
Among the negative critics was Verne Gay of Newsday who called the series "violent and dull", adding:
What's not to like about Hatfields & McCoys? Simple: the story. It's an uninteresting one, peopled with almost criminally bland characters. In fact, as portrayed here—quite possibly accurately—they're a bunch of bibulous knuckleheads who shoot at each other year after year—or on TV, hour after hour—and have no real idea why. It's an interminable eye-for-eye, tooth-for-tooth narrative.[11]
The point of the entire saga, it seems, is to make you lose track of what the feudin' was about, and how it managed to burn out of control. It will always be tempting to view their story through any modern analogy of one's choosing—such as partisan political stalemates or the red-blue socioeconomic divide. But maybe the story of the Hatfields and McCoys doesn't amount to anything at all. Maybe, since it also doesn't make much of miniseries, it was meant to be a footnote and nothing more.[12]
Ratings
Part one drew the largest ever ratings for a History program and one of the biggest in cable TV history. 13.9 million viewers tuned into the first of three parts, making it the most-watched single broadcast on ad-supported cable ever, excluding sports. Demographic numbers were high as well, with 4.8 million viewers in the adults 18–49 demographic and 5.8 million viewers among adults 24–54.[13] Part two was watched by 13.13 million viewers with an adult 18–49 rating of 3.7, the highest rated programming on cable of the night.[14] Part three was watched by 14.29 million viewers with an adult 18-49 rating of 4.0, making it the number-one program of the night.[15]
Accolades
Hatfields & McCoys received 16 nominations at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, the most since the History Channel began operations.[16]
Tom Bjelic, John Laing, John Douglas Smith, Mark Dejczak, Michael Mancuso, Dermain Finlayson, Kevin Banks, Darrell Hall, Alex Bullick, Nathan Robitaille, Dan Kiener, Emilie Boucek, and Steve Baine (for "Part 1")
The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats on July 31, 2012. The bonus material includes a music video of "I Know These Hills" from Kevin Costner and Modern West from their album Famous for Killing Each Other: Music From and Inspired By Hatfields & McCoys.[41]
Effect on tourism
According to WYMT-TV in Hazard, Kentucky, the series has generated an increase in tourism to the area from people wanting to know about the feud. Pike County Tourism Vice Chair Reed Potter said,
It's been beyond our expectations. We've been getting requests for brochures that tell about the feud sites and places people can visit at a rate today last I checked of about two per minute.[42]
