With production on the Coen Brothers’ western series The Ballad of Buster Scruggs due to begin this month, The Tracking Board is reporting that the cast of the TV show is coming together, with James Franco, Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Stephen Root and Ralph Ineson all nearing deals to join the project.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is described by the Coens as “a feature-length omnibus” and will consist of six different stories:
“The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs” follows a singing cowboy.
“Near Algodones” is about a high-plains drifter whose own fecklessness dogs his attempts at bank robbery and cattle driving.
“Meal Ticket” follows an actor and impresario of a traveling show.
“All Gold Canyon” is about a prospector who happily finds a gold seam but then unhappily finds an evil encroacher.
“The Gal Who Got Rattled” follows two trail bosses on the Oregon Trail and a woman on the wagon train who needs the help of one of them and who might be a marriage prospect for the other.
“The Mortal Remains” follows five very different passengers on a stagecoach of mysterious destination.
The site reports that Franco, Root and Ineson are slated to appear in ‘Near Algodones’, with Zoe Kazan in ‘The Girl Who Got Rattled’ and Tyne Daly appearing in ‘The Mortal Remains’.