Spielberg saddles up for TV western

Steven Spielberg is saddling up for his first Western.

The Oscar-winning director is planning a 12-hour limited series for television that will get under way next summer.

The still-untitled series will follow a pair of families, one white and one American Indian, whose lives parallel the settlement of the American West in the 19th century.

It has not yet been cast but the series is expected to attract star names for the leading roles.

Spielberg will be the executive producer and his company DreamWorks TV will produce the series.

But even if proves a massive hit, Spielberg has made it plain he has no plans to keep it in production as a fully-fledged series or to revisit it for a one-shot sequel, reports Daily Variety.

Limited series are attractive to Spielberg and topline actors who may not want to get locked into a regular series that could tie them up for five years or more.