The Young Riders
| The Young Riders | |
|---|---|
DVD cover of the first Season 1 box set
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| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Ed Spielman |
| Starring |
Stephen Baldwin Josh Brolin Brett Cullen Travis Fine Don Franklin Melissa Leo Ty Miller Christopher Pettiet Gregg Rainwater Yvonne Suhor Clare Wren Anthony Zerbe |
| Composer(s) | John Debney |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 68 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jonas McCord, Scott Shepherd |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Ogiens/Kane Company MGM Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 20, 1989 – July 23, 1992 |
The Young Riders is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War. The series premiered on ABC on September 20, 1989 and ran for three seasons until the final episode aired on July 23, 1992.
Filming of the original pilot for the series took place in California. After the ABC network picked it up, the series production moved to Tucson, Arizona, with filming in "Mescal", a western-themed movie town operated by Old Tucson Studios.
Before the series premiere, producers of the 1988 film Young Guns filed a lawsuit against ABC and the series producers, claiming the series title combined with its plot infringed on their trademark.
In the second season, Don Franklin joined the cast to portray the character Noah Dixon. In doing so, he became the third African-American actor to hold a starring role in a television western – after Raymond St. Jacques, who had co-starred on the final season of Rawhide as cattle drover Simon Blake (1965) and Otis Young, who co-starred with Don Murray on the short-lived (1968–69) TV series The Outcasts. Having never ridden a horse before, Franklin was sent to "Cowboy Camp" for 3–4 days where he learned how to mount and dismount, and the basics of riding. Desiring to also work behind the cameras, Franklin talked with producers about writing and directing an episode for the series. In an interview, he noted that the series producers were very receptive and was regularly encouraging the cast to not only make suggestions, but also follow through with them. When the cast noted that they didn't like the series becoming a "guest-villain-of-the-week", it was changed to refocus back on the individual characters and their relationships with each other. Franklin himself also encouraged that more black characters be included in the series.
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