Jason Momoa's 12-Part Neo-Western, Based On A True Story, Has Hit Netflix At The Perfect Time

Published Nov 3, 2026, 3:00 AM EST

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

Although the show was originally released in 2014, Jason Momoa’s 12-part Neo-Western is arriving on Netflix at the ideal time for the actor. Jason Momoa’s screen career dates all the way back to 1999’s Baywatch: Hawaii, although his role as Ronon Dex in the Stargate franchise outing Stargate Atlantis is how many viewers came to know the star. For others, it was HBO’s iconic George R.R. Martin adaptation Game of Thrones that introduced them to Momoa.

Momoa played the warlord Khal Drogo in the series, and this iconic role soon boosted his profile enough for the actor to gain the part of Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe. Roles in blockbusters like Fast X, A Minecraft Movie, Supergirl, and the Dune series followed, as well as a lead part in 2026’s hit action comedy The Wrecking Crew. Most recently, Momoa played Blanka in 2026’s Street Fighter reboot.

However, Netflix subscribers who want to see more from the actor before Dune: Part Three’s December release have a great opportunity thanks to his underrated 12-part, two-season Neo-Western The Red Road. Originally released in 2014, The Red Road follows Momoa’s Philip Kopus and Martin Henderson’s Harold Jensen. Philip is a member of the Ramapough Mountain Indians, living in the Ramapo Mountains on the New York/New Jersey border, while Harold is a cop coping with his wife’s undiagnosed schizophrenia and subsequent drinking problem.

Jason Momoa's The Red Road Hits Netflix Between Street Fighter & Dune 3

Tina Rowden / © Sundance Channel / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Tensions between the Native community and the local police mean that Harold has a hard time tracking down an NYU student who goes missing near the mountain range. Meanwhile, Philip’s attempts to set up a small-time drug dealing business inevitably set him on a path to confrontation with Henderson’s cop. This storyline might sound similar to any of the many True Detective replacements of the era, but The Red Road deserves a second glance for numerous reasons.

As Kopus, Momoa makes an unapologetic convict both sympathetic and complicated, as viewers can’t help but root for Philip to improve his family’s financial fortunes, even when this means selling drugs in a deprived community. Meanwhile, although Harold’s hardship in caring for his wife is heartbreaking, his inability to seek professional treatment for her is mirrored in his imperfect police work.

Thus, the two flawed men end up acting as ersatz mirrors for each other, both prioritizing their own ways of caring for their families over the word of the law, and both paying the price for their hubris as the show’s gritty story continues. Influenced both by Neo-Western cop shows like Justified and gritty earlier crime dramas like The Wire, The Red Road is both more believable than many later Neo-Westerns like Yellowstone and, at only 12 episodes, less of a commitment than The Wire, The Shield, or other classic anti-cop cop shows.

How Much Of The Red Road Is Based On A True Story

Quantrell D. Colbert/©Sundance/Courtesy Everett Collection

Although inspired by the real-life tensions that have historically existed between the Ramapough Lenape Nation and the local police, The Red Road tells a primarily fictional story. One major subplot concerning the Ford Motor Company’s decision to dump toxic waste in the Ringwood Mines landfill plant, poisoning the Lenape people in the process, is taken directly from reality.

However, in real life, the tensions between the Lenape people and the town’s police have traditionally been more one-sided. For instance, one Ramapough tribal member, Emil Mann, was fatally shot by State Park Police Officer Chad Walder in 2006. Where The Red Road’s plot features flawed cops and criminal antiheroes, the real-life Lenape tribe members attacked by the police were completely innocent.

That said, for viewers who want a thrilling Neo-Western with a memorable setting, Momoa’s earlier two-season series is a must-watch. Gritty and morally complex, The Red Road is one of the better Neo-Western cop shows of the 2010s.

Cast

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  Philip Kopus

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  Martin Henderson

  Harold Jensen

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  Cooper Andrews

  Rowtag

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  Darien Johnson

  Lenape Teenage Boy