Yes, and no. American Primeval is a work of historic fiction. Meaning, Sara and Isaac’s story is made up, as is the story of Jacob and Abish. However, the backdrop of American Primeval is based on reality.

The series, now streaming on Netflix, depicts the brutality with which the Mormons sought to create a new world for their beliefs, the pride with which the native people held onto their ancestral lands, and the tragedy of the people just seeking to make a new home in the chaos. But is any of it true?

Peter Berg directs an epic six-part drama about the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, in which more than 100 settlers were murdered by militant Mormons.

It seems The Osmonds may not have been the worst outrage perpetrated on an unsuspecting public by the Mormons. American Primeval is set in the 1850s, and is based around the real-life massacre of settlers travelling from Arkansas to California by the Mormon militia known as as the Nauvoo Legion.

Jim Bridger is one of the most important characters in Netflix's American Primeval, and here is the real-life story behind the historical figure.