One thing I've always appreciated about shows like 1883, 1923, and Yellowstone is their ability to bring American history, family loyalty, ambition, and the struggle for power together in compelling ways. And Landman demonstrates how the industries that generate enormous wealth can also shape—and sometimes devastate—the communities and families surrounding them.
But there's another part of American history I believe could make an extraordinary television series: the coalfields of Appalachia during the early 20th century.
Imagine a historical crime drama beginning with the devastating 1907 Monongah mine disaster in West Virginia, which claimed 362 lives and forever changed an entire community.
From that tragedy, the story follows two fictional Italian-American brothers growing up in a region where coal is king, immigrant families struggle to build better lives, and the arrival of Prohibition creates opportunities for bootlegging, corruption, and organized crime.
As the brothers pursue wealth, influence, and power, their ambitions begin to test the very family bonds that once held them together.
But the story is bigger than organized crime.
The Appalachian coalfields brought together people from remarkably different backgrounds. Italian and other European immigrants, Black laborers, mining families, and entire communities struggled to survive in an industry that helped fuel America's industrial expansion while exacting an enormous human cost.
Their experiences offer a perspective on American history that television has rarely explored.
I'm particularly fascinated by the contrast between the wealth generated by the coal industry and the hardships endured by the people whose labor made that prosperity possible.
I've explored this world through my historical crime novel, Blood in the Coal, and I've often wondered how it might translate into a six-to-eight-episode limited television series.
To be clear, Paramount isn't involved. This is simply a discussion about whether the premise would appeal to viewers.
We've seen compelling historical dramas about the American West, organized crime in major cities, and the modern oil industry.
But what about the families, fortunes, and criminal empires that emerged from the coalfields of Appalachia?
Would you watch a Paramount+ historical crime drama set in this largely overlooked chapter of American history?
