Josh Brolin And Stephen Baldwin's ABC Western Series Is Rarely Talked About Today
Before Josh Brolin became a Marvel star and Stephen Baldwin got his big break in "The Usual Suspects," the pair appeared in an ABC series that time has forgotten. "The Young Riders" was a Western series that premiered in 1989 and was based on the real-life American mail service group called the Pony Express. However, the show strayed from the initial premise, with the young riders focused more on fighting outlaws than delivering mail.
Some were younger versions of famous Western folk heroes. For example, Baldwin played Billy Cody, who grew up to be Buffalo Bill. Meanwhile, future "Outer Range" star Brolin played James Butler Hickok, who became Wild Bill Hickok. The cowboy crew was pretty diverse for the late 1980s, with the group including Native American member Buck Cross (Gregg Rainwater), a girl who dressed like a boy named Lou (Yvonne Suhor), and freed African-American Noah Dixon (Don Franklin) who joined in Season 2.
ABC aired three seasons, and it earned two Emmys for costume and music department. When "The Young Riders" moved to the Saturday timeslot for its 2nd season, the series gained an audience. It beat out the other shows airing alongside it, even having more people tuning in to it at one point than one of ABC's best shows of all time, "Twin Peaks." Yet, "The Young Riders" never became an '80s hit show. While it may not have been Brolin or Baldwin's big break, it gave them a wider audience than ever before.
ABC was sued for The Young Riders' similarity to Young Guns
A year before "The Young Riders" premiered, 20th Century Fox released "Young Guns," a Western film that followed another younger version of an American folk hero, Billy the Kid. That film starred more famous actors at the time, including Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Charlie Sheen, and became a solid box office hit, becoming the 22nd highest-grossing film of the year.
Given its similar name and plot, some people thought that "The Young Riders" may be trying to ride "Young Guns" coattails to success. However, the only real connection is that the show and film were set in the same time period. That didn't stop Morgan Creek Productions, the company that produced "Young Guns," from suing ABC over copyright infringement in 1991. ABC responded by adding a disclaimer in front of episodes, "Not based on Morgan Creek's films 'Young Guns' and Young Guns II."
By then, ABC was airing the final season of "The Young Riders," so it didn't affect the show much. The series ends rather bleakly for some characters, as the story concludes with the start of the American Civil War. As of this writing, "The Young Riders" is available on streaming platforms such as Prime Video and Roku for viewers to discover or rediscover.