11 Great Things You Only Notice Rewatching Deadwood

6. The Unflattering Depiction Of Hearst

Garret Dillahunt Deadwood
HBO

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.

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Conor Spielberg is a freelance writer who has worked for various publications including CBR, Multiversity Comics, and of course WhatCulture. Armed with nothing more than a laptop and strong opinions about things of little consequence; he has managed to write about comics, film, television, tabletop games, and video games. He has even managed to trick people into paying him to do it.