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This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

If you like porn but want to make things a bit more interactive, these are some popular dating sites that will help you achieve that. There’s a little something for everyone, whether you’re looking to explore your kinky fantasies, make a lasting romantic connection, search for senior love, hook up, or want to keep things safely socially distanced and just chat.

And if free videos with easy-to-search categories like Pornhub offers are what do it for you, there’s options out there for you. While these sites are by no means perfect and some of them are pretty raunchy, here's the scoop on what you're getting yourself into.

What do you need to know about dating on NSFW sites?

Keep in mind that “dating” on NSFW sites like Grindr and GetItOn is about as subtle as the names of the platforms: Users are there to find a connection for a night, a threesome, or an ongoing sex buddy situation — not a long-term partner.

Also, sites like this don’t operate without mutual consent and boundary-setting (and respecting). When you’re building out your profile, be specific and honest about what you’re looking for and wanting so you can find people who genuinely match up with you and your interests or fetishes.

Should you use a NSFW site for dating?

If you’re looking for no-strings-attached sex, or just a sexting or Skype-sexing buddy for the evening, NSFW sites can be ideal for getting your needs met and getting straight to the point. “Dating” here is a very loose term — think of these as sites and apps for hooking up.

SEE ALSO: The best dating sites and apps for women

Users on these apps tend to be fairly direct — don’t expect a dinner invitation before you get asked over to their flat. If that’s not your cup of tea and you need a little more of the getting-to-know-someone before jumping into bed with them, these might not be the right sites for you.

What precautions should you take when using a NSFW dating site?

If you’re on a site where you need to share personal information or choose a username, be careful about the information you’re giving out — and about what kind of information it is. Things like credit card numbers are vulnerable to hackers, and using your real name on platforms like these can compromise your safety if you happen to stumble upon the wrong sort of people on the sites.

Always choose a username that doesn’t have a relationship to your first name, and be careful about the personal information you share (like where you live, etc.).

What else is important to know when using a NSFW dating site?

Besides not giving away any personal information, especially for things like anonymous encounters on cam or sexting sites, know the risks when it comes to sending nude or partially nude photos containing identifying details like your face or tattoos. While it’s against the law in many places to circulate private sexual images, that doesn’t stop people from doing it.

What is the best NSFW dating site?

There are plenty of raunchy dating sites out there that should suit just about everyone, but we get that you probably don't want to spend all day perusing the options (or maybe you do). To help you find the best NSFW dating site for you, we have lined up a standout selection.

We've tried to find something for every type of dater, with popular sites like AdultFriendFinder and GetItOn making the cut. You just need to pick a favourite.

These are the best dating site alternatives to Pornhub in 2025.

TL;DR: Live stream Paul vs. Auger Aliassime in the 2025 Adelaide International for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Australian Open is about to serve up some scintillating tennis, but the Adelaide International is still in the spotlight. The first Grand Slam of the season is obviously top priority for the best players in the world, but Paul and Auger Aliassime will still be desperate to claim a tournament win in preparation for the main event.

If you want to watch Paul vs. Auger Aliassime in the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Paul vs. Auger Aliassime for free

The 2025 Adelaide International is available to live stream for free on 9Now, including Paul vs. Auger Aliassime.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2025 Adelaide International by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Visit 9Now

5. Watch the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer incentive deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Paul vs. Auger Aliassime without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Adelaide International and Australian Open (also on 9Now for free) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis on 9Now, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Paul vs. Auger Aliassime in the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Keys vs. Samsonova in the 2025 Adelaide International for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Australian Open starts in a matter of days, but the Adelaide International hasn't yet reached its conclusion. The first Grand Slam of the season is obviously the priority for most of the best players around the world, but try telling that to Keys and Samsonova. They've got the small matter of a semi-final clash to get through first.

If you want to watch Keys vs. Samsonova in the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Keys vs. Samsonova for free

The 2025 Adelaide International is available to live stream for free on 9Now, including Keys vs. Samsonova.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2025 Adelaide International by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Visit 9Now

5. Watch the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer incentive deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Keys vs. Samsonova without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Adelaide International and Australian Open (also on 9Now for free) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis on 9Now, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Keys vs. Samsonova in the 2025 Adelaide International for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for January 10 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for January 10, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

You have to do this before you can walk.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

No letters appear twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

CRAWL.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 10

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 10 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 10 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: They're inseparable

These words are things got together.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

Words are things you always find together, like peanut butter and jelly.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Together.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for January 10

• Soap

• Water

• Milk

• Cereal

• Rhythm

• Blues

• Arts

• Craft

• Together

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for January 10 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Need

• Green: Letting up

• Blue: Mixology

• Purple: Brain teaser elements

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Be contingent (on)

• Green: "Calm down"

• Blue: Ingredients in an old fashioned

• Purple: Featured in the Monty Hall problem

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #579 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Be contingent (on): DEPEND, HINGE, RELY, REST

• "Calm down": CHILL, EASY, ENOUGH, RELAX

• Ingredients in an old fashioned: BITTERS, ORANGE, RYE, SUGAR

• Featured in the Monty Hall problem: CAR, DOOR, GOAT, HOST

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 10

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

We all know how ingrained the internet has become in day-to-day life. However, as the world becomes more connected, online threats grow more and more sophisticated. This means protecting your personal and financial data is more critical than ever, but also more complicated than ever.

Here are some key strategies to help you stay secure and maintain your peace of mind online:

Use strong, unique passwords for every account

Passwords are the first line of defence against unauthorised access to your accounts. Yet, many users still reuse simple passwords across multiple platforms, making them easy targets for hackers. To enhance your security, create strong, unique passwords for every account – combining letters, numbers and special characters. Using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords ensures that you never need to rely on memory or repetition. Password managers can be bought as standalone subscriptions, but are also normally included security suites such as Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security.

Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MGA) and two-factor authentication (2FA) add an additional layer of security to your accounts by requiring a second form of verification beyond just a password. This could be a one-time code sent to your phone, a biometric scan, or an app-based authenticator. With MFA or 2FA enabled, even if your password is compromised, unauthorised access is nearly impossible without the secondary credential. Lean more about enabling MFA here.

Be aware of phishing attempts

Phishing is a common online threat where scammers trick users into providing sensitive information by posing as legitimate entities. These scams often appear as emails, text messages or even fake websites. To counter this threat, educate yourself in identifying phishing scams, and use detection tools like Bitdefender’s Scam Copilot, which identifies and blocks scams in your email, browser, messages and other apps. Scam Copilot is included in Bitdefender’s Premium and Ultimate security suites.

Keep your software updated

Outdated software makes you a prime target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities. Whether it’s your operating system, browser, apps and even antivirus software, keeping everything up to date ensures that you benefit from the latest security patches and features. Most software platforms offer automatic updates – make sure this is enabled to stay protected without the hassle of manual checks.

Use comprehensive security software

Investing in reliable security software is one of the best ways to safeguard your devices. At the bare minimum, you should get a no-frills antivirus like Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which will keep you protected against malware, spyware and ransomware. Meanwhile, security suites like Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security bundle in many other useful tools, such as Scam Copilot scam detection, unlimited VPN, password manager and more. Read more about security suites here.

Practice safe browsing habits

Cybercriminals often exploit risky online behaviour to gain access to sensitive information. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, downloading files from unverified sources, or visiting unsecured websites. While the presence of the HTTPS padlock in the browser no longer indicate that the website is safe to visit, it's still a good indicator that the data you are about to enter will not be intercepted as it goes to its destination. Never submit sensitive information on sites that do not offer HTTPS connections. You should also limit the amount of personal information you share online to minimise your exposure to potential attacks.

Educate yourself and stay informed

At the end of the day, online safety begins with you. Stay informed about the latest online threats. Since you’re reading this article, you already know that PCMag is a great place to start. Cybersecurity providers also share information about the threats they are up against, such as on this Bitdefender blog. Knowledge is power, and by educating yourself, you can proactively defend against potential risks.

Stay safe out there!

The Southern California wildfires continue to rage on, devastating areas around Los Angeles, including the Pacific Palisades, Hurst, and Pasadena.

Over 180,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, and over 2,000 buildings have been destroyed. The fires, which are widespread and windy, have yet to be contained and have been stretching the limits of firefighting resources. However, according to the Los Angeles Times, California Governor Gavin Newsom has recruited more firefighters and resources, and President Biden has supplied federal support with air tankers from the U.S. Forest Service. 

SEE ALSO: You can track the Los Angeles wildfires with a free app

Meanwhile, those living in the area are undoubtedly affected by the air pollution caused by wildfire smoke. According to AirNow, which is run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and other federal agencies, the air quality index (AQI) in the Los Angeles area is listed as "Unhealthy" measuring at 188 PM2.5. The site's recommendation for this AQI level is to minimize outdoor activity, especially if you have symptoms or belong to a sensitive group.

AirNow is a great resource for checking the AQI index, but it's not the only one. Below, we've compiled some of the best sites and apps for checking air quality.

The Weather app for iPhone users

Did you know that Apple's native Weather app provides air quality information? If you open a location and scroll past the weekly forecast, you'll find the air quality index. If you click on the widget, you'll get more granular information about pollutant details and any pertinent health information.

The World Air Quality Index Project

The World Air Quality Index Project is a collaboration of environmental agencies worldwide. Its site compiles air quality data from 50,000 monitoring stations in 132 countries to provide real-time AQI stats worldwide. However, you can also visit specific areas monitored by local stations and get detailed current and historical information from each device. 

AirNow

AirNow is a collaborative effort of federal agencies that provides air quality data across the U.S. The site also has up-to-date information about the wildfires, resources, data, and interactive maps to help users learn more about particular areas and how they might be affected. There's also a free AirNow mobile app.

Air quality apps

A quick iOS or Android app store search will yield numerous results for well-reviewed air quality apps. Unlike government-funded sites, these apps are a bit more polished and provide more features and ways to personalize your preferences. For example, several apps, such as IQAir, Air Matters, and the Plume Labs app, provide multi-day air quality forecasts, and Paku provides hyperlocal real-time AQI data. 

There are also apps specifically designed for tracking wildfires, such as Firesource and Watch Duty, which provide real-time data about fire perimeters, evacuation orders, wind conditions, and air quality. 

The 2025 tax season is officially upon us.

The Internal Revenue Service will open access to its Free File preparation service starting Jan. 10, the federal agency announced in a news release.

Free File is a program that allows certain taxpayers to complete their return using guided tax software, free of charge.

SEE ALSO: Watch out for these common tax scams

Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less in 2024 can use Free File. Those who qualify must start their return by selecting a Free File option from the IRS' website (taxpayers will not find the free service on the website of a tax preparer that has partnered with the IRS to participate in Free File; in 2025, those partners include TaxHawk, TaxSlayer, 1040Now and ezTaxReturn).

Though taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less can utilize Free File, the IRS noted that each partner has its own eligibility criteria based on age, state residency, and military status, among other factors. Some providers may also offer free preparation of state tax returns.

Once Free File is open for use, taxpayers can prepare their returns and hold them until the official IRS tax season begins later in January.

The IRS' Free File Fillable forms, which are electronic versions of common IRS paper forms, will be accessible to all starting Jan. 27 — taxpayers who don't qualify for Free File can use the fillable forms should they feel comfortable preparing their own taxes independently.

"Over the years, Free File has helped millions of taxpayers, providing a fast and simple way to file their returns," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in the agency's statement.

American Primeval is decently entertaining as an action-drama, though it's quite fascinating in concept. The Netflix mini-series, created by Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg, features an accomplished ensemble playing mostly familiar archetypes during a pre-Civil War struggle for the American West. However, it saps anything resembling wistfulness from its Hollywood Western roots, complicating its chances of cornering the post-Yellowstone market (alongside the latter's many spin-offs). What's left is the husk of a beloved genre, told in stark, chaotic hues seldom seen on-screen.  

The show's numerous subplots are connected by grisly happenstance, albeit not much else. It's a violent saga, even though its violence quickly plateaus. This goes for both its physical brutality, as well as the many cruel ideologies in its crosshairs, from white supremacy and religious fundamentalism to a general penchant for war. But that these are so nakedly on display, in a show this unapologetically grim, is a welcome surprise, from a setting and storytelling mode so otherwise steeped in nostalgia. Despite its threads unraveling in haphazard ways, the series is never boring, and never wanting for a good performance.

SEE ALSO: 2025 TV preview: All the TV shows you need to know, and where to stream them What is American Primeval about? Credit: Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

The story of American Primeval, which takes place in the winter of 1857, is based on real locations and events, albeit with necessary dramatizations. With a bounty on her head for an alleged murder, well-to-do mother Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin) absconds from Philadelphia with her pre-teen son Devin (Preston Mota) to meet up with her husband out west. But upon arriving at Fort Bridger — a real fur trading outpost in Wyoming along the Oregon Trail — she learns that her guide has already left, leading her to desperately search for safe passage wherever she can find it.

The fort is not far from volatile conflicts between numerous factions. The Shoshone Tribe is one of several who have been driven from their native land by constant war. A ruthless Mormon militia patrols the territories near Utah, at the behest of the expansionist, extremist preacher Governor Brigham Young (a terrifying Kim Coates). Meanwhile, the conscientious U.S. Army Captain Edmund Dellinger (Lucas Neff) tries to keep the peace, but he's growing increasingly cynical about the possibility of coexistence (as we're frequently reminded, through his numerous diary entries narrated in voiceover).

The aforementioned groups only account for about half the series' characters, all of whom are set up bit-by-bit through very direct exposition. Additionally, there's the lone gunman from whom Sara seeks help, the lonely and brooding Isaac (Taylor Kitsch), who shares an intimate history with the Shoshone. There are the bounty hunters on her trail, led by Virgil Cutter (Jai Courtney), a leader whose heartlessness clashes with his more empathetic protégé Lucas (Andrew P. Logan).

There are the various militiamen and Mormon leaders, and there are also Mormon civilians just trying to find their way unscathed. Some of the latter end up inadvertently attacked when traveling with a larger caravan, including newlywed Abish Pratt (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) and her husband Jacob (Dane DeHaan), whose increasingly bloody and disheveled appearance each episode is as ludicrously funny as Homer Simpson hitting infinite rocks and tree branches. And of course, there's Jim Bridger himself, the founder of the aforementioned fort, played with smarm and panache by the ever-delightful Shea Whigham.

The show also features a number of Native characters who, although they're seldom allowed to leave the strict confines of plot function — American Primeval is an anti-Western in every way but this — still displays a beating humanity and ethos. There's the young, nonverbal Shoshone girl Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier), a runaway who hitches a ride with Sara and Devin, and there's also rogue Shoshone warrior Red Feather (Derek Hinkey), who forms his own tribe intent on trading blood for blood. If the latter sounds a whole lot like a central character in Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, his appearance isn't the only time you'll be making that comparison.

If anything, the show plays like a morbid and cynical answer to Horizon, the film series that Costner left Yellowstone in order to make, and one that wrestles with the violence inherent to America's founding myths while still morosely holding on to a folkloric image of the nation's past. American Primeval has less trouble removing its rose-tinted glasses, even going as far as to deploy rearrangements of Woody Guthrie's famous folk song "This Land Is Your Land" to deeply ironic effect. However, it struggles just as much as Costner's film when it comes to switching between its numerous characters.

American Primeval is propulsive, but uneven. Credit: Matt Kennedy / Netflix

The show's structure and plot might mirror Costner's Western epic, but its closest aesthetic cousins are actually Alejandro González Iñárritu's own violent winter Western The Revenant (which Mark L. Smith also notably penned) and, in terms of frenetic editing, the Star Wars films of J.J. Abrams. That second comparison is, for the most part, complimentary. American Primeval charges forth with reckless abandon, leaving little room to consider the actual time and space between people spread across different parts of the landscape. That's not always a good thing, but it means each new plot development is always just around the corner, with characters always ready to stumble into each other's stories.

On the other hand, the lack of actual travel time or any sort of downtime for the characters, even across six hours, leaves little room for them to unravel and develop. Gilpin and Kitsch, for instance, are suitably austere, resulting in Jane Austen-esque romantic tensions, but who they are as people is established from minute one, and remains frozen in stasis throughout the story. The same is true for most characters except DeHaan's, who has the advantage of being changed by physical injury. No one is really affected or impacted, in human ways, by the show's many goings-on.

That said, those goings on are usually fun to watch, from gritty firefights in unbroken takes to vicious hand-to-hand combat in close quarters. Emmanuel Lubezki's Oscar–winning cinematography for The Revenant was clearly the prototype here, with short-lensed close-ups skewing space and enhancing the impact of everything from blood to spittle, all covered in snow. The first episode is wonderfully chaotic, with its quick cuts and askew Dutch angles throwing everything off-balance as civilians are engulfed by attacks. Unfortunately, this visual approach ends up somewhat indiscriminate across the series, even during mundane conversations.

The show's washed-out palette and permeating muck and grime paint America's infancy as a time of petty squabble without absolution — a counter-narrative to most of the country's mythology about itself. However, the show also builds in a kind of narrative backstop to prevent it from falling into total despair: the American dream is still, in a sense, alive, but it's relegated to the four walls of Fort Bridger.

The focused metaphors in American Primeval almost work. Credit: Matt Kennedy / Netflix

The fort, which appears early on in the series and becomes a frequent respite from the action, very much exists in the vein of cinema's lawless Old West, with its saloons, and shootings, and hangings. But it's also representative of an American ideal. It's the only place in the show where characters from all walks of life, and all backgrounds (white, Native, or otherwise) can congregate, take refuge from religious extremism, and have an actual shot at living.

It's also the center of a beautifully haunting climax that revels in the slow demise of said ideals, which makes for a pitch-perfect conclusion to the show — or would have, had the series chosen to end on this symbolic note. Instead, it returns to one of its many ongoing narratives so that Person A can wander into Story B and conclude Subplot C, most of which jog in place for multiple episodes.

While American Primeval occasionally wields its metaphors with skill, it is, for the most part, a banal and obvious show about the trickle-down effects of the past. For instance, Courtney's Cutter, when addressing Sara, all but turns to the camera in order to deliver the line, "Our current circumstances are a reflection of our past decisions." The problem with this sort of delivery — other than its thuddingly literal nature — is that this theme and every other one is established in the first episode and never transforms dramatically.

American Primeval may be forward-thinking in its premise, with its apparent deconstruction of national history and self-image. However, its execution ends up with little to say, beyond the broad strokes of people's selfishness causing pain and suffering. You learn this from the get-go, so you know exactly the kind of show you're getting into from there on out, but there's little left to learn. So, even its subversions of traditional Hollywood imagery and American mythmaking feel oddly familiar and comfortable by the end.

American Primeval is now streaming on Netflix.