Netflix Orders New 'Lonesome Dove' Series with Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart as Co-Showrunners
Netflix has ordered a new series adaptation of Lonesome Dove, the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1985 western novel by Larry McMurtry, with Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart attached as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers (Variety).
The series logline places two retired Texas Rangers, Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, on a final cattle drive from the Rio Grande to Montana — the same sprawling journey at the heart of McMurtry's novel. Rights to the property are held by Teton Ridge Entertainment, which hired Kazan and Stuart for the project. The order was announced on 9 September 2026.
Kazan and Stuart arrive with a Netflix relationship already in place. The pair previously co-showran East of Eden, a seven-episode limited series adapting John Steinbeck's 1952 novel for the streamer, with Kazan credited as the adaptation's writer. Florence Pugh stars in that series as Cathy Ames. East of Eden is set to stream globally on Netflix on 1 October 2026 (Netflix Newsroom; Deadline).
The executive producer roster for Lonesome Dove spans both the rights holder and the author's estate. From Teton Ridge Entertainment: Thomas Tull, president Jillian Share, and Jen Gorton. From the McMurtry Estate side: Jon Jashni, Diana Ossana, and Curtis McMurtry. Ossana was a producer on the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, which McMurtry co-wrote with Diana Ossana; the estate's involvement means the author's literary legacy has direct representation in the production. Jinny Howe, Netflix's head of scripted series for the U.S. and Canada, oversees the project on the platform side.
Lonesome Dove carries considerable television history. The novel was first adapted in 1989 as a CBS miniseries starring Robert Duvall as Gus McCrae and Tommy Lee Jones as Woodrow Call. That production won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries, and took home a Golden Globe in the same category. It remains one of the most recognised western adaptations in American television.
No episode count, release window, or casting announcements for the new series have been confirmed. The order is straight-to-series, meaning no pilot episode will be shot before a full season commitment. For a property of this stature, that signals Netflix's confidence in the package assembled — though how the new adaptation distinguishes itself from the 1989 miniseries remains a question the production has yet to address publicly.
For viewers, the announcement means a second major literary adaptation is moving through Kazan and Stuart's pipeline at Netflix, with East of Eden arriving in October and Lonesome Dove now in development behind it.
