Godless begins in the 1880s American West as murderous outlaw gang leader Frank Griffin hunts for ex-protégé Roy Goode. Frank’s chase leads him to La Belle, New Mexico – a town inhabited, after a mining disaster that kills most of the men, almost entirely by women.
Notorious criminal Frank Griffin and his gang of outlaws are really on a mission — they want revenge on Roy Goode, a former protege who betrayed the brotherhood. On the run, Roy seeks refuge in isolated mining town La Belle, N.M., where he lives with Alice Fletcher, a hardened widower and outcast. When word reaches La Belle, which is governed mainly by women, that Griffin is headed there, the residents of the town band together to defend against his murderous gang.
“Godless” hails from creator Scott Frank, who’d teamed up with Steven Soderbergh and Casey Silver before on “Out of Sight.” “I’ve always wanted to write a western,” says Frank. “I had no idea what the story was. I didn’t know anything. I just knew I wanted to write a western.”
He’d originally intended it as a movie, spending two years on the script. Soderbergh passed on directing it (“He was concerned about directing horses,” says Frank, “and it wasn’t a place he wanted to go creatively”) but given his experiences on “The Knick,” he suggested that Frank turn it into a miniseries. Frank readily agreed — and decided to take on directing duties himself. “TV is taking more risks than movies are now,” he says. “And movies are resistant to make a western because they just don’t travel well and it’s hard to make money overseas.”
“I would definitely come back and do another TV series like this,” he says. “I would definitely do another western. I wish I could do this one now that I know how to do it.”
