Cast: Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Rosemarie Dewitt,Lily Santiago, Wilson Bethel, William Smillie, JD Pardo

Streaming Service: Netflix

Length: 6 episodes

Release Year: 2025

Audio Description Produced By: Descriptive Video Works

Written By:Ruth Barrett

Narrated By:Saffron Henderson

What Is It? A dead body in a National Park triggers an investigation that dredges up the past for an experienced park ranger and his rookie. What is the identity of this body, and how did it get there? What does it all mean?

What Works: Six episodes. You only have to sit through six episodes. And, while this is no ones best performance, with Bana, Neill, and Dewitt all doing much better stuff, they are just fine. the mystery might interest some, but ultimately the road led exactly where I thought it would.

What Doesn’t Work: I just don’t think it is that well directed, written, or cast. i think supporting characters here fell out of a failed casting call for Virgin River, but they weren’t good enough to get there. Instead, they get to wander around the first.

But if you really want to know, and this is a spoiler, so be prepared… but I never could shake the casting of Sam Neill. the series never justifies his presence. this is Sam neill. He’s basically lurking in the shadows, sitting around waiting for the plot to need him. Even Rosemarie Dewitt’s character had a twist waiting for the final episode, but Neill is so big, I spent six episodes waiting for a shoe to drop that I could see in the sky. if Untamed wants to be a better show, cast more than three big names and make sure they actually have something to do. Also, Neill seems to be having a harder time hiding his accent, which he’s done a better job of. he’s balancing a bit of a folksy midwestern accent, while not being an American.

The Audio Description: There’s some great stuff here. It’s a mystery, and it takes place outdoors. I especially liked the opening of the second episode, which shows a bit of our victim before she died. The description was really good. The show also deals with very visual elements, like gold tattoos and carvings, not to mention supposedly thrilling moments where someone is in danger, or someone gets shot at just the right or wrong time. I’m not sure what else Saffron has narrated, and while she doesn’t seem like the first choice in my head, she wasn’t distracting, and we have to get new voice talent out somewhere. Might as well be on this mediocre show.

Why You Might Like it: You like one of the cast members, or you only watch shows bingeable in one day. Six hours is a long day on the couch, but it isn’t unreasonable.

Why you Might Not Like it: While elements of the mystery are intriguing, the show isn’t written or directed well enough to know what to do with them. Tracker has a lot of this type of thing going on a weekly basis for CBS, and does this better.

Final Thoughts: Untamed may claim to be a wild new mystery, but it is ultimately defeated by lackluster writing, and casting choices it seems unable to escape.

Rotten: 5.1/10