TV

Western X: Online Series

Starring a lone gunslinger with a mysterious past and a quick hand, Western X serves up just what genre fans are looking for

Disparate genres blend effortlessly in this supernatural, post-apocalyptic western whodunit

Western X will russle up fans of the genre, while providing a unique supernatural twist

The cult for AMC’s Hell on Wheels may not be as substantial as those surrounding Mad Men or Breaking Bad, but by earning a second season, the series has at least proven the viability of westerns with today’s audiences.

If you’re new to the genre but can’t wait for the show’s second season to premiere, consider giving the online series Western X a look-see.

A synopsis of Western X seems simple enough at first: a man known only as X (Dustin Hale) wakes up surrounded by dead bodies with no memory of who he is, and embarks on a quest to fill in the highly substantial holes in his history while battling against members of the Black Coats. This premise may seem straightforward on the surface, but it’s actually a far cry from it.

Seemingly set in the wake of the Civil War, the website for the series defines the world of Western X as having been devastated by “a biblical plague of apocalyptic proportions,” describing the goings-on as “a genre-bending, gritty supernatural western that combines realism with surrealism to create a world that’s unlike our own.”

Executive producer Mike Flores has done a remarkable job with the series’ visual effects, particularly when considering the limited budget that he almost certainly had to work with, but his most profound success is in creating a strange, creepy vibe while still working more or less within the constraints of the western genre.

Can you conceive of an unholy convergence between Gunsmoke’s Dodge City and the town of Twin Peaks that’s been sprinkled with dashes of everything from The Walking Dead to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower?

If so, then either you’ve just thrown down this magazine in horror or you’re thinking, “If this guy is even halfway on target with his description, this could well be the best web series ever.”

Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.