Outsiders

I haven't seen a modern day TV show like this before. The show is revolves around a rough and tough hillbilly culture that you might expect exists in the secluded mountains. They even make their own version of moonshine.

It's a solid and interesting story about your stereotypical "We govern ourselves" type hillbilly clan that continues to evolve and progress in a way that keeps you wanting to see what's next.

There are a few episodes where you get a tinge of the "cheesy" factor, so I'm only going to give this 8 out of 10 stars. David Morse plays one of the alpha dogs of the pack. He manages to pull off the role quite decently, but I think they could have casted a better actor for that part and it would have helped eliminate the "cheesy" factor that occasionally taints the plot. He's just not capable of playing the super tough redneck type character you would expect to see in charge of a hillbilly clan in the mountains. Have you ever seen one of those guys? They are frightening looking dudes.

"Outsiders" is not meant to be a story about real people in a real situation, and if you can get past that notion, there is a story here that bears watching, filled with power struggles (big coal against the mountain people, son against mother, son against father), crazy romances, superstition (the power of the mountain), and the struggle to preserve a way of life in the face of changing realities. Some of the acting is first class, especially Thomas Wright (the Sheriff), and the rest of the cast does a good job as well. The photography is really good and I enjoy the ways in which the various lives intertwine. This is the type of series you need to watch from the beginning, and if you want to watch Season 2 be sure you watch Season 1 first.

There is only one major thing to remember about Outsiders. And that is that it got canceled after two seasons. So don't waste your time watching it because they just stop in the middle of the story without any explanation or a decent ending. Why they do that is a mystery to me because the series wasn't that bad. I didn't know the channel WGN before watching this but now I will remember. I will remember never watching anything again from their channel because I can't afford to waste my time again. But if you do decide watching the two seasons expect to have a story that isn't bad but that isn't all good either. There are some turns in the story that will make your eyes raise. But it's not all bad. Why they can not write an ending to a show they know they will cancel is a mystery to me. WGN, never again.

Welsh, people. Not Irish, not Celtic, not Scots. They are descended from the Welsh. How do I know this? The "strange" language/words they are speaking are WELSH. The old customs are WELSH. The laws are derived from OLD WELSH LAWS. Their society is set up as ancient Wales was, not with "Clans", but with individual "Kingdoms" (at one point, in post-Roman era Wales, there were 9 individual kingdoms: 3 major kingdoms, Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth, and 6 minor kingdoms.)

The show really isn't that unbelievable, IF you understand the history behind the Farrell "Kingdom/Queendom". So, instead of slamming that switch you do not understand, educate yourself.

has potential because the story is fresh and original, with some decent actors you'll recognise from other shows.

outsiders living in the hills for generations doing their own thing according to their own rules, and the town people who largely stay away afraid of who they are and what they might do.

But now they are forced to collide with a mining development wanting to move the people off the mountain.

Ill continue watching to see where it goes - as long as it stays away from cliché and predictability I think it has enough originality to keep it going.