11 Great Things You Only Notice Rewatching Deadwood
6. The Unflattering Depiction Of Hearst
Like Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, and many others in the show, George Hearst was in fact a real person. This did not deter the writers of the show to take creative licence and make him one of the most despicable characters in the entire show.
He is emblematic of both the power structure of the Wild West and the level of immorality that was commonplace at the time when said power was left unchecked. The real-life Hearst was much less sinister, although still very much a ruthless industrialist who profited most from the town's gold rush.
This is not the first time there has been such a scathing depiction of a Hearst in media. George Hearst's son, William Randolph Hearst was in fact the direct inspiration for Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane.