Billy the Kid (TV Series) The Immigrants (2022) User Reviews

A man walks into a bar ...

[bosporan · 7/10 · 24 April 2022]

The opener outlines the harsh and tragic conditions of Billy's upbringing as the family struggle to move west. It is, though, a heavily laden caravan, taking a tortuous 45 minutes to do the work of 15.

On the plus side, the style is gritty environmental realism overlaid with a well-portrayed human emotional struggle, creating a feeling of empathy for the characters. Strong performances from Jonah Collier as Billy and Eileen O'Higgins as his mother.

After one episode the jury is out, this has potential to blossom forth or become self-absorbed and wither on the vine.

Strange topography

[venitianfun · 1/10 · 26 May 2022]

Looks like Billy and his family left NY, traveled through west Texas and found Coffeyville, KS somewhere in the southern Rockies? I'm not exactly a stickler for accuracy in movies, I understand sacrifices have to be made for entertainment value but the landscape shown is so wrong it's hard to ignore.

The Big Cry and The Big Lie.

[jamericanbeauty · 1/10 · 10 May 2022]

The debut episode opens with a young adult Billy The Kid confronting a man who wants to kill him. Billy gets the draw on him, aim...then gets teary-eyed and says "I really don't want to shoot you". Sigh. Here comes the reluctant, compassionate, conflicted protagonist Billy The Kid. If you know his history, he's a ruthless outlaw. He killed Apache Indians, deputies and rival gangs without hesitation. Next, we flashback to preteen Billy. His Dad is a weak, meek man who curls up in bed and cries at the possibility of moving to Kansas for job opportunities. Billy's Mom is the strong-willed leader of the family because of course she is. On the way to Kansas, there's an accident offscreen, then a gun fight offscreen. If Epix doesn't have the budget for an action-packed Western, then don't do a Western series. Back to Billy's Dad, he curls up and cries in the wagon during their travels. They reach Kansas and he cries while talking to Billy about the stars in the sky. The strong Mom is holding down the family. Billy's Dad seems to have "mind problems", not physical, as per a local doctor. Suddenly, he dies...you guessed it...offscreen. He died from melancholy? In his sleep? Who knows. In real life, Billy's Dad disappeared. We don't know how or when or what he died from. His backstory is ambiguous, which gives Exec. Producer/writer Michael Hirst the opportunity to make him a sad, ineffective man, so Billy's Mom can be the strong head of family. History says Billy's Mom will later marry another man. The child actor playing preteen Billy was a good choice and has presence. The actor playing adult Billy was miscast. He's not a commanding lead. Normally, I give shows a two episodes try, but this will not get any better. Michael Hirst is trying to rewrite the legend and the history of Billy The Kid. If you're not a fan of Billy The Kid, why make a series about him?

sheesh, do some research

[howboutthisone_huh · 4/10 · 24 April 2023]

Maybe nobody cares about history but that's no excuse to be irresponsible. I know that the irish myth is that they mostly immigrated thru ny and boston but that's no reason to keep repeating the same myths without doing a little research. In the 1800s, the 2nd largest number of irish, scotch, and welsh was thru the ports along the southern coast and particularly new orleans. In fact around the time of the civil war there was calif but the west was still LA and TX, for the period which often goes overlooked by the current media retrospective history writers. Also, the path that they supposedly took in this episode is nonsense. Can I prove it, yes but not in the length of a tweet and besides, the producers probably don't care and future producers will just do the same as this group. Watch more tv than actually learn something. There are a lot of other errors too. I get it. It's not a documentary but you don't expect to see rayguns and uber cabs when you're watching a western.