Untamed: Eric Bana’s Netflix Mystery Thriller Earns An 83% Rotten Tomatoes Score

A woman falls to her death from El Capitan. What initially looks like a tragic accident soon becomes something far more troubling — and the investigation leads deep into the wilderness of Yosemite National Park.

That is the premise of Netflix’s Untamed, a six-episode mystery thriller starring Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, Rosemarie DeWitt and Wilson Bethel. The series premiered on July 17, 2025, with all six episodes released at once. Netflix describes it as a character-driven thriller built around a federal agent investigating a death in a vast national park.

The series has also attracted a positive critical response. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists Untamed at 83% from 64 critics’ reviews, while its critics’ consensus highlights Bana’s performance and the striking Yosemite setting.

A Death That Doesn’t Look Like An Accident

At the centre of the story is Kyle Turner, played by Eric Bana, a special agent with the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch.

When a woman dies after falling from El Capitan, Turner suspects there is more to the case than a simple accident. His investigation takes him into remote parts of Yosemite, where the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death gradually connect to older secrets — including parts of Turner’s own past.

The mystery develops across six episodes, with Turner and rookie ranger Naya Vasquez investigating a Jane Doe case that grows increasingly complicated. A strange symbol, a remote encampment and connections to an old case all become pieces of the larger puzzle.

Eric Bana’s Connection To Kyle Turner

Bana leads the series as Turner, a character who is far more at ease in the wilderness than he is around the people and unresolved issues in his life.

The actor was drawn to the role early on. He first read the script in 2019 and immediately connected with Turner, partly because of their shared appreciation for spending time outdoors and the effect nature can have on a person’s emotional state.

That connection became an important part of Bana’s performance. Turner is highly capable when navigating the wilderness, yet he is also carrying grief and unfinished business from his past. Netflix’s Tudum describes him as a man wrestling not only with the environment around him but also with himself.

Lily Santiago’s Rookie Ranger Faces A New World

Lily Santiago plays Naya Vasquez, a rookie park ranger who moves from Los Angeles to Yosemite with her four-year-old son, Gael.

Naya is not new to investigations. Before joining the park service, she worked for the LAPD, including in homicide. Those skills become valuable when Turner begins investigating the death, but Yosemite presents a completely different environment from the city she knows.

Her relative inexperience with the park also gives the audience a way to discover Yosemite alongside her. As Naya learns how to navigate the vast landscape, she becomes increasingly important to the investigation and develops significantly over the course of the six episodes. Netflix’s Tudum identifies her as an ambitious young investigator whose big-city homicide experience becomes useful in a case that is distinctly human.

Sam Neill Heads A Veteran Yosemite Team

Sam Neill, best known for Jurassic Park, plays Paul Souter, Yosemite’s longtime chief park ranger.

Souter has spent decades in the park and knows its landscape intimately. He also has an established relationship with Turner, giving the investigation another personal dimension.

The supporting cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt as Jill Bodwin, Turner’s ex-wife. Despite their divorce, the two remain close.

Wilson Bethel plays Shane Maguire, a former army ranger who now works as Yosemite’s wildlife management officer. His knowledge of the wilderness makes him another important figure within the park’s tight-knit community.

Yosemite Is More Than A Backdrop

One of Untamed’s defining features is the contrast between Yosemite’s familiar beauty and the darker story unfolding beneath it.

The creative team wanted to explore areas beyond the postcard version of the national park — the remote wilderness that most visitors never experience. Mark L. Smith has described Yosemite as enormous, with visitors seeing only a small portion of its total landscape.

That isolation becomes an important part of the mystery. Away from modern conveniences and familiar surroundings, the characters have fewer places to hide and fewer tools to rely on, putting greater emphasis on their instincts and personal abilities.

Where Was Untamed Filmed?

Although the story is set in Yosemite National Park, production began in Vancouver, British Columbia, in June 2024, with filming taking place across several locations in British Columbia.

The production used Canadian landscapes to recreate parts of Yosemite. The series also incorporates imagery associated with the famous California park, creating the impression of a vast and isolated wilderness.

Director Thomas Bezucha explained that some of the production’s most demanding mountain sequences were filmed in British Columbia, including work at Mt. Seymour, where the team recreated the summit of El Capitan. Eric Bana even performed a rappel down the mountain himself for one sequence.

The Bear Eric Bana Never Saw

There was one wildlife encounter Bana apparently missed.

Despite spending the production surrounded by remote wilderness, the actor never saw a bear. Other cast members did encounter one, while a dedicated bear handler was present to help keep the actors and wildlife safe.

Bana had hoped to have a positive bear encounter during filming, but it never happened.

Critics Respond To The Six-Part Mystery

The series has received a generally positive critical response, reflected in its 83% Tomatometer score from 64 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics have particularly noted the combination of Bana’s restrained lead performance and the imposing Yosemite setting. Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus describes the murder mystery as solid while highlighting the visually striking environment surrounding it.

The six-episode structure also keeps the story relatively contained. Rather than stretching the investigation across a lengthy season, Untamed moves through its central mystery in a single limited-series run.

All Six Episodes Are Streaming On Netflix

Untamed consists of six episodes, ranging from 42 to 51 minutes, and all are available to stream on Netflix.

The first season follows Turner from the apparent death at El Capitan through a widening investigation involving Jane Doe, hidden connections and secrets buried within Yosemite. By the final episode, the investigation reaches the truth behind the death and the long-buried events that set it in motion.

What begins with a mysterious fall quickly becomes a much larger investigation — one where the wilderness is not simply the setting, but an essential part of the story.