50 best television shows set across the United States
By Sundi Rose
West Virginia: Hatfields & McCoys
The premise: The name itself should offer a large clue as to what this show focused on: the infamous feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families at the West Virginia/Kentucky border. The show was the History channel’s first scripted drama.
The setting: The show is set years after the Civil War in the 1880s, in the Appalachians in West Virginia and Kentucky, where the two families fought viciously with each other. Kevin Costner famously played “Devil” Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton was Randall McCoy. Anse and Randall have just returned home after months of battle, and were reasonably seeking some peaceful time with their loved ones. The show documents how a series of events, including a murder and a love affair, caused a chaotic war between the two men and their families.
The most West Virginian thing about it: The infamous family feud itself is often linked with West Virginia and Kentucky, and the show did a fantastic job alluding to the culture, wardrobe, and mannerisms of people who lived on the border of both states.