Jim Bridger, played by Shea Whigham, was a real life pioneer who built the town of Fort Bridger, which features in the series and was a real town. Brigham Young, played by Kim Coates, was also a real life figure. He was the head of the Mormon church at the time and had his own army known as the Nauvoo Legion.

Audiences are devouring the grisly Netflix miniseries “ American Primeval ,” a work of historical fiction centered around the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre in which Mormon militiamen in southwestern Utah slaughtered nearly an entire wagon train of men, women and children.

Netflix's "American Primeval" has drawn criticism from the LDS Church for its portrayal of Brigham Young and historical events.

Show also egregiously mischaracterizes Brigham Young and others “in ways that reinforce stereotypes that are both inaccurate and harmful,” Latter-day Saint leaders say.

While acknowledging that “American Primeval” is a work of historical fiction, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints derided in a Friday news release the “dangerously misleading” treatment of true events and people in the Netflix miniseries.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a statement calling the recent streaming series "American Primeval" "dangerously misleading" and says it mischaracterizes LDS prophet Brigham Young.