The Eric Bana Murder Mystery Miniseries You Have To Watch On Netflix

Eric Bana may be better known today for his many movie roles, from playing the hero Bruce Banner in Ang Lee's "Hulk" to the villainous Romulan Nero in 2009's "Star Trek" and Uther Pendragon in "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword." Believe it or not, though, Bana actually got his start on television in his native Australia, where after a run on the sketch comedy show "Full Frontal," he received his very own talk show, "The Eric Bana Show Live." His career has had its ups and downs, with as many failures as successes, but he remains one of the most well-respected actors in Hollywood for his ability to portray complex characters in understated but powerful performances. 

Due to star alongside Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton in a Netflix action-thriller "Apex," Bana is showing no signs of slowing down. But before "Apex" arrives, Bana is back with a hit on the small screen in 2025, and his latest TV miniseries, "Untamed," is turning heads. Set in the wilds of the Yosemite National Park in California, the series comes from the mind of Mark L. Smith, the screenwriter behind such beloved films as the Oscar-winning "The Revenant" and more recently the 19th-century TV series "American Primeval." 

Alongside Bana is an all-star cast that includes Sam Neill, Wilson Bethel, and Rosemarie DeWitt, which helped it rack up rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. With its national park setting you might think it's a spin-off of "Yellowstone," but it's actually one of the best murder mysteries of the year.

"Untamed" is a crime drama that takes place at a national park, a region whose distance from civilization and remote forests, canyons, and ravines make it the perfect place to commit a murder and get away scot-free. It's in this wilderness region that we meet Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), an agent of the National Park Service's Investigative Services Branch, the park's primary detective agency. When a dead body is discovered at the bottom of the sheer rock summit called El Capitan, Turner calls upon inexperienced park ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) to aid him in the investigation.

Being a major tourist attraction that sees more than 4 million paying visitors each year, though, park management wants to squash the investigation and declare the death a tragic accident, but Turner defies orders to get to the truth. The real story of "Untamed," however, is the one beneath the surface, because Kyle Turner is not just a homicide investigator — he's also a man still grieving the tragic death of his young son years earlier. Ever since, Turner has been a shell of himself, burying his sorrows in booze and obsessing over work so that he doesn't have to think about anything else. And his latest case gives him plenty to think about, as it quickly connects to a broader conspiracy.

A spectacular character drama set against the backdrop of a grisly murder mystery, "Untamed" is a revelation. Debuting at #1 on Netflix's Top Ten TV shows and boasting a jaw-dropping ending, it's a series that true crime fans won't want to miss.

An original story from screenwriter Mark L. Smith, "Untamed" isn't based on a book, nor is it based on a real event. At least, not one specific event. But the miniseries does draw inspiration from the very real rash of murders that occur every year in national parks across the United States. For starters, national parks are often unsafe because, just as "Untamed" shows, they're made up of vast wilderness hundreds of miles away from civilization. Yosemite, for example, is more than 1200 square miles of wilderness territory.

In fact, in 1999, a serial killer used Yosemite for his hunting grounds, while a mysterious severed hand was also once found within its borders in a case that remains unsolved. More broadly, national park deaths have often been the center of conspiracy theories, as a swath of fatal incidents remain unsolved and, in some cases, are also totally bewildering. Even the cliff face fall in "Untamed" echoes real cases. While a fall from a great height is a common cause of death in national parks, some are far more troubling — including the case of Evelyn Consuela Rosemann, whose death was ruled an accident despite reportedly showing clear signs of foul play. 

There have been at least 16 deaths reported at Yosemite's El Capitan since 1989, the site of the incident in the premiere episode of "Untamed," with seven between 2014 and 2023. Between a rash of unsolved but apparent murders at parks nationwide and a string of inexplicable disappearances, it's clear that real life is full of just as many compelling mysteries as "Untamed."