The Outcasts (TV series)

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The Outcasts was a short-lived Western television series, appearing on ABC in the 1968-69 season. The series co-starred Don Murray and Otis Young, and is probably most notable for being the first television Western with an African-American co-star.

The series tells the story of white bounty hunter Earl Corey (Murray) who teams up with newly released slave Jemal David (Young) in the 1860s. Although only 26 episodes were made, its short run probably reflected the rapidly-changing U.S. racial climate in the late 1960s more than the quality of the series itself. The show was also criticized for "excessive violence".

Several dynamics ran through the show. For one, the two heroes were not friends. They were reluctant partners, both good at bounty hunting, but each needed someone to watch his back. Still, there were times when the white man had to decide whether to side with other white men, or to back up his partner. A rich-poor dichotomy was very subtle. Earl Corey had lived on a plantation, a rich man, but had lost everything, so was poorer than poor. Jemal David, on the other hand, had been a slave who never owned anything, but now was fairly prosperous. Earl tended to be tense in this "new" environment, but Jemal took things in stride.