Today, Eric Bana is primarily recognized for his cinematic roles, such as portraying the protagonist Bruce Banner in Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” the antagonistic Romulan Nero in the 2009 “Star Trek,” and Uther Pendragon in “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.” Surprisingly, Bana began his career on television in Australia. After appearing on the sketch comedy show “Full Frontal,” he landed his own talk show titled “The Eric Bana Show Live.” Over the years, his career has seen both triumphs and setbacks, yet he continues to be a respected figure in Hollywood, renowned for his skill in delivering nuanced and compelling portrayals of complex characters.

Eric Bana is set to appear alongside Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton in a Netflix action-thriller titled “Apex,” indicating his career momentum remains strong. Before “Apex” debuts, he shines on the small screen in 2025 with the popular TV miniseries “Untamed,” which has captured significant attention. The series, set in the rugged terrain of Yosemite National Park in California, is helmed by Mark L. Smith, the screenwriter known for the acclaimed film “The Revenant” and the recent historical series “American Primeval.”

In “Untamed,” Bana is joined by a stellar cast including Sam Neill, Wilson Bethel, and Rosemarie DeWitt, contributing to the show’s positive reception among viewers and critics. While its backdrop in a national park might suggest a connection to “Yellowstone,” it stands as one of the year’s most captivating murder mysteries.

“Untamed” is a crime drama that takes place at a national park, a region whose distance from civilization and remote forests, canyons, and ravines make it the perfect place to commit a murder and get away scot-free. It’s in this wilderness region that we meet Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), an agent of the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch, the park’s primary detective agency. When a dead body is discovered at the bottom of the sheer rock summit called El Capitan, Turner calls upon inexperienced park ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) to aid him in the investigation.

Being a major tourist attraction that sees more than 4 million paying visitors each year, though, park management wants to squash the investigation and declare the death a tragic accident, but Turner defies orders to get to the truth. The real story of “Untamed,” however, is the one beneath the surface, because Kyle Turner is not just a homicide investigator — he’s also a man still grieving the tragic death of his young son years earlier. Ever since, Turner has been a shell of himself, burying his sorrows in booze and obsessing over work so that he doesn’t have to think about anything else. And his latest case gives him plenty to think about, as it quickly connects to a broader conspiracy.

A spectacular character drama set against the backdrop of a grisly murder mystery, “Untamed” is a revelation. Debuting at #1 on Netflix’s Top Ten TV shows and boasting a jaw-dropping ending, it’s a series that true crime fans won’t want to miss.

An original story from screenwriter Mark L. Smith, “Untamed” isn’t based on a book, nor is it based on a real event. At least, not one specific event. But the miniseries does draw inspiration from the very real rash of murders that occur every year in national parks across the United States. For starters, national parks are often unsafe because, just as “Untamed” shows, they’re made up of vast wilderness hundreds of miles away from civilization. Yosemite, for example, is more than 1200 square miles of wilderness territory.

In fact, in 1999, a serial killer used Yosemite for his hunting grounds, while a mysterious severed hand was also once found within its borders in a case that remains unsolved. More broadly, national park deaths have often been the center of conspiracy theories, as a swath of fatal incidents remain unsolved and, in some cases, are also totally bewildering. Even the cliff face fall in “Untamed” echoes real cases. While a fall from a great height is a common cause of death in national parks, some are far more troubling — including the case of Evelyn Consuela Rosemann, whose death was ruled an accident despite reportedly showing clear signs of foul play. 

There have been at least 16 deaths reported at Yosemite’s El Capitan since 1989, the site of the incident in the premiere episode of “Untamed,” with seven between 2014 and 2023. Between a rash of unsolved but apparent murders at parks nationwide and a string of inexplicable disappearances, it’s clear that real life is full of just as many compelling mysteries as “Untamed.”