In the past few years, Eric Bana has gone quite low-key with his roles, flying under most people’s radar and appearing in rather underseen Australian movies like “Blueback,” “The Dry,” and “Force of Nature.” But in the summer of 2025, the “Hulk” actor returned to the small screen in a lead role that was practically tailor-made for him. In Netflix’s six-episode crime drama, “Untamed,” he plays lone and haunted special agent Kyle Turner, who works for the National Park Service in Yosemite National Park.
One day, he’s ordered to investigate the dead body of a young woman who seemingly fell off the park’s El Capitan rock formation and died. Observing the body and the crime scene, Turner instantly suspects that the incident might have been foul play and not just one of those tragic, unfortunate accidents that happen to careless hikers unfamiliar with the terrain. But given his brooding and morose nature, Turner isn’t exactly the most popular guy around the park, and we learn why. He’s still mourning the loss of his young son, Caleb (Ezra Wilson), desperately clinging to and reliving memories that only prolong and prevent him from ever moving on and processing his heavy emotions.
This new case of the unidentified dead woman serves as a perfect distraction for him, and he’s adamant about solving it, no matter what secrets he needs to uncover to get there. But regardless of how stubborn and relentless Turner is, he can’t dodge getting a rookie partner assigned to him to help with the investigation.
Fans of True Detective’s brilliant freshman season will find a lot to love in Untamed
“Untamed” shares many characteristics with “True Detective’s,” masterful first season (as opposed to Season 2, which caved under the pressure of topping the first), apart from the murder mystery. In the latter, Matthew McConaughey’s, who recently teamed up with Bradley Cooper to deliver a hilarious ad for Uber Eats, Detective Rust Cohle was also greatly affected and consumed by the loss of his child, which ultimately changed him and ended his marriage. Turner is in the same shoes, although he still holds out hope (and a great affection) for his ex-wife, Jill (Rosemarie Dewitt), who already has a new family.
But what might be the greatest asset of “Untamed” (beyond the top-notch cast and writing) is the mesmerizing atmosphere and wild beauty of its Yosemite setting. The vast and dangerous wilderness is as much of a character here as the humid and menacing Louisiana was in “True Detective.” Michael McDonough and Brendan Uegama’s gorgeous cinematography throughout the six episodes keeps viewers immersed and invested in this world even when the plot seems to come to a halt on occasion.
Regardless, the murder case is sprawling and intricate enough to stick with it until it’s resolved, especially because it leads to such engrossing, if tragic, personal dramas that deliver a great deal of food for thought. Not to mention the carefully balanced suspense that “Untamed” measuredly maintains until its final conclusion. Despite being originally planned as a miniseries, Netflix renewed the show for a second season. In the follow-up, Eric Bana will reprise his role as Turner, who’ll be sent to the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to investigate another mysterious death, joined by Shea Whigham’s Ray Burkart and Kelly Hu’s Awapuhi.
