Since its July 2025 debut, the new Netflix series Untamed has captivated audiences with its hypnotic blend of untrammeled wilderness, mystery, and psychological unraveling. According to IMDb, the show debuted at number one on Netflix’s Top 10 Shows list, with 24.6 million views and 119.5 million hours watched in only its first week of streaming. The first and only season thus far was set in Yosemite National Park: At the center is grief-ridden Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) a National Parks Service agent called in to investigate a crime scene when a woman falls from El Capitan under mysterious circumstances. The show, largely filmed outside of the actual park, used these park sites not just as a backdrop, but as a narrative force—unforgiving and deeply symbolic.
While Sierra Nevada’s granite peaks and cathedral forests loom large in the story; in reality, much of what viewers saw onscreen was filmed in Canada’s British Columbia. There, remote terrain and a seasoned film industry offered both the flexibility and rugged aesthetic the production needed—without the apparent logistical headaches that come with shooting inside a US national park. While the decision sparked frustration among some Yosemite loyalists, the show’s creative team opted for practical workarounds: building detailed ranger stations on Vancouver soundstages and shooting exterior scenes in Canada’s backcountry, which— for me, at least—convincingly echoed the drama and isolation of Yosemite’s wilder zones. And with season two of the show set in development, the question arises: Where will Untamed be filmed next?
Untamed season 2 has the opportunity to physically and emotionally test Bana’s character in wild new places. This means the next landscape must do more than look wild; it has to feel alive, volatile, and emotionally charged—a terrain that forces out what characters keep hidden. According to Netflix, the new season is aiming to “showcase a park as distinct from Yosemite as possible.” So, in that spirit, three US national parks emerge as compelling contenders: Death Valley, Acadia, and Denali. Each one offers not only a different environment but a new way to confront what it means to be human in the wild.
Death Valley National Park, California
For Untamed’s next adventure, there may be no better place to take viewers than the scorching, desolate expanses of Death Valley. One of the hottest places on Earth, the park’s vast salt flats, towering sand dunes, and stark, barren landscapes stand in stark contrast to the high-alpine drama and lush beauty of Yosemite. Conveniently-located in California for a Hollywood production, Death Valley’s stark, almost sculptural beauty is visually unlike anything we’ve seen in Untamed so far, which makes it an intriguing choice for a second season. The desert environment creates a different kind of challenge: less about physical obstacles (those who watched know Bana was climbing a lot) and more about scale, silence, and exposure.
The dry, vast landscape might hold tension in the space between landmarks, where time stretches out and small decisions carry weight (queue: any John Wayne film, and old-western cowboy dramas). For the series, it could push characters to their limits while simultaneously invoking awe at the raw power of the natural world.
