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TV miniseries ‘Texas Rising’ takes big-screen approach

This photo provided by History shows Jeff Fahey, left, as Thomas Rusk, and Bill Paxton as Sam Houston, in a scene from the television series, "Texas Rising." The new show debuts on the History channel on Monday, May 25, 2015, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. (Prashant Gupta/History via AP)
This photo provided by History shows Jeff Fahey, left, as Thomas Rusk, and Bill Paxton as Sam Houston, in a scene from the television series, "Texas Rising." The new show debuts on the History channel on Monday, May 25, 2015, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. (Prashant Gupta/History via AP) This photo provided by History shows Jeff Fahey, left, as Thomas Rusk, and Bill Paxton as Sam Houston, in a scene from the television series, "Texas Rising." The new show debuts on the History channel on Monday, May 25, 2015, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. (Prashant Gupta/History via AP)

By Associated Press 4 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The success of “Hatfields & McCoys” and “The Bible” inspired the History channel to go Texas-sized big with its new miniseries.

“Texas Rising,” a 10-hour saga about the fight for independence from Mexico, was shot in wide-screen CinemaScope and was directed by Oscar-nominated Roland Joffe; features armies of extras in sprawling battle scenes; and includes songs performed by Kris Kristofferson, George Strait and Jose Feliciano amid a full symphonic score.

But when “Texas Rising” debuts at 9-11 p.m. EDT on Monday, executive producer Leslie Greif and leading men Bill Paxton and Olivier Martinez hope viewers appreciate the story’s nuances as well as its breadth. Subsequent episodes air Tuesday and on the three following Mondays, June 1-15.

“We wanted to try to tell the story from a lot of perspectives, so there are really no villains in our piece,” Greif said. “There are villainous deeds … but we didn’t want to have a paintbrush and say this side is right and this side is wrong.”

“Texas Rising” opens in 1836 with the aftermath of the Alamo Mission battle, a critical Texas Revolution event in which Mexican troops wiped out their opponents known as Texians. The drama tracks a mix of real and fictional characters through the subsequent politics and equally savage battles that led to the creation of the Republic of Texas and ultimately the U.S. state.