Now that Kevin Costner’sYellowstonehas ended, fans of the massively popular show may be looking for a new Western series to watch, and these 10 options are perfect picks. Though there are severalYellowstonespinoff shows, and several moreshows written by Taylor Sheridan,Yellowstonefans may be looking for something new to watch. After theseries finale ofYellowstone, the sprawling story of the Dutton family and their fight to preserve their land has left a hole in many viewers' hearts, and one that could be filled by a new, equally engaging story.
Luckily, the Western genre has plenty to offer beyond the “Sherdianverse.” From more classic Westerns set in the 19th century to gritty revisionist takes on the genre and even neo-Western police procedurals, there are plenty of great Western TV shows out there that can takeYellowstone’s place. Almost every part of the acclaimed show has been remade in another series, and these 10 great Western shows all recapture some ofYellowstone’s magic.
One of the best replacements forYellowstone, 2012’sHatfields & McCoys, also has something very obvious in common with it: Kevin Costner.Costner starred inHatfields & McCoysas William Anderson Hatfield opposite Bill Paxton as Randolph McCoy. The show, as its title suggests, follows the infamous feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families along the border of West Virginia and Kentucky from 1863 to 1891. Costner is once again great as the patriarch of a powerful and influential family, and Paxton proves to be a great rival on par with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham).
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Aside from putting Kevin Costner at the head of another powerful Western family,Hatfields & McCoysis great forYellowstonefans for several other reason.Though it’s set further east than Montana,Hatfields & McCoys' timeline makes it even more of a Western thanYellowstone. It also features the same type of massive cast filled with colorful characters thatYellowstonewas beloved for, and the same type of decade-spanning, sprawling story. On top of it all,Hatfields & McCoysis just good television, and it’s better than several ofKevin Costner’s Western movies.
Not every show can replicate Kevin Costner’s star-power inYellowstone, butLongmirewas able to find a main character who was just as magnetic as John Dutton III.Longmirefollows Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) as he uses his own common sense and powers of deduction to solve murders across a massive and understaffed county in Wyoming. Walt is every bit as stubborn, strong, and determined as John III, he just traded in unruly children and a massive ranching empire for unruly deputies and a massive police jurisdiction.
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Longmireis one of manydetective shows that are reminiscent ofSherlock, but since it deals more in cattle rustlers, revolvers, and cowboys, it’s very similar toYellowstone.Another major reasonLongmireseems so reminiscent ofYellowstoneis because of the balancing act Walt has to play between his own Wyoming county and the nearby Cheyenne reservation. Because of their proximity, and because of Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips), Walt’s best friend,Longmiredeals with questions of true justice and seems extremely similar to John III’s battle with Thomas Rainwater.
Long beforeYellowstonebecame the biggest TV title in the Western genre,Deadwoodwas the premier piece of cowboy media.Deadwoodfollows a massive and star-studded cast - including Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, and Molly Parker - as they make a life in the Old Western town of Deadwood, South Dakota through the 1870s. Despite being set far beforeYellowstone,Deadwoodwas incredibly topical to the early 2000s and set the bar for prestige television. It was so well-received thatDeadwoodis widely considered one of thebest TV shows ever made.
If any Western show could be considered even better than Yellowstone, it would have to be Deadwood.
Yellowstonefans are also much more likely to enjoyDeadwoodthan most viewers would, even despite its widespread acclaim.Like the Duttons, the cast ofDeadwoodfeatures so many interesting and well-developed characters that it’s hard to pick a single favorite, or a single most hated. The fight for the town’s development is also so complex and beautifully woven together that it seems likeYellowstonewas trying to emulate it. If any Western show could be considered even better thanYellowstone, it would have to beDeadwood.
Another of Timothy Olyphant’s Westerns is also a great replacement forYellowstone. Olyphant played U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens inJustifiedfor six seasons as he tracked down criminals across Kentucky and delivered his own brand of frontier justice in the modern day.Justifiedalso boasted one of the best rivalries on television for a long time, between Olyphant’s Givens and Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder. Anyone who liked the moral ambiguity and frontier justice ofYellowstoneis sure to enjoyJustified.
The Book of Boba Fett
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One of many reasons to watchJustifiedis its star: Timothy Olyphant. In the years sinceDeadwood, Olyphant has become one of the few remaining legends of the Western genre in modern times.He’s starred in half a dozen great Western movies and shows, and Olyphant may be one of the only Western actors who can hold a candle to Kevin Costner as a leading man. If John Dutton III was your favorite part ofYellowstone, Raylan Givens could help heal the sting of his death.
Josh Brolin, another rising star in modern Westerns, recently threw his hat in the ring to replaceYellowstone.Brolin stars inOuter Rangeas Royal Abbott, a Wyoming rancher embroiled in a property battle with his neighbors who discovers a mysterious black void on his land. Aside from the supernatural occurrences the show is built around,Outer Rangestill features land battles, Western settings, family drama, and more thatYellowstonefans will find familiar. As an added bonus, Brolin is impeccable in the role of Royal Abbott, and he’s every bit as interesting as John III.
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Outer Rangeis probably the least similar show toYellowstoneon this list, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth giving a chance.It’s a unique blend of the neo-Western and science fiction genres, and whileYellowstonefocused exclusively on the former,Outer Rangehandles both impeccably well. Even viewers who aren’t normally sci-fi fans will find something to love aboutOuter Range, from its mind-bending story to its impressive visual effects and cinematography. In short, though it may be out of some audiences' comfort zones,Outer Rangeis well worth taking a chance on.
Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) is easily one of the best parts ofYellowstone, so a show that is basically predicated upon an entire Old Western town filled with Beths is a recipe for success.Godlessfollows the town of La Belle, which is almost exclusively inhabited by women after a massive mining disaster. There’s no shortage of strong personalities in La Belle, however, and the entire town bands together to take on roaming outlaw Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels). It’s easy to imagine Beth being based on any number of La Belle’s residents, which is quite a compliment.
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Netflix has plenty of great films and shows available, and many of them are in the Western genre. These are the 25 best Westerns on the platform.
Godlessis perhaps one of the best shows at emulating somethingYellowstonewas known for. ThroughoutYellowstone’s five seasons, there’s an almost oppressive number of problems and crises that the Duttons have to solve, and the Yellowstone ranch is almost always in some form of peril.Godlessperfectly recaptures the all-encompassing hopelessness that madeYellowstoneso suspenseful, and it perfectly applies it to a new century. It may not be the most uplifting show, but there’s a reason so many people lovedYellowstone’s often anxiety-inducing tone to begin with.
The most recent contender to replaceYellowstoneis also one of thebest Western shows from the last decade.Netflix’sAmerican Primevalis a dramatization of the Utah War between members of the Church of Latter-day Saints and the United States government, along with several Native American tribes.American Primevaltakes a harrowing and often depressing look at the reality of the mythical Old West, which often seems similar to (though to a much greater extent than) the wayYellowstonedemystified the idea of a bucolic life on a ranch.
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Netflix’s epic period Western series American Primeval is based on a handful of real-life events and historical figures with some altered details.
Like several other shows on this list, one of the biggest reasonsAmerican Primevalis a perfect follow-up toYellowstoneis because of its massive cast of interesting characters.There are almost too many conflicts, interpersonal dramatics, and life-or-death stakes going on simultaneously inAmerican Primevalto summarize them all, which is exactly whatYellowstonebecame known for. None of the settlers inAmerican Primevalever got a break from their troubles, in much the same way none of the Duttons were ever able to let their guards down.
For anyone missingYellowstone’s unique blend of Western themes and soap opera drama,Dallasis a nearly perfect replacement.By all accounts,Dallaswas the 1980s equivalent ofYellowstone, most notably in terms of popularity. It spawned the iconic “Who shot J.R.?” ad campaign, and at the height of its 14-season run,Dallasbecame one of the most-watched broadcasts in television history. A big reasonDallasgot so popular is because it had the same soap opera-esque storytelling style - complete with cliffhanger endings, massive character deaths, and villainous siblings - that propelledYellowstoneto massive fame.
One character in particular highlights the similarities betweenDallasandYellowstonebest: J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) is extremely similar to Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). Both of them started off as side characters in their respective shows' overarching stories, and both became massively popular main antagonists. They also both hatched similarly diabolical schemes and approached the family business with a level of disrespect that made them intensely easy to hate (or love). J.R. and Jamie, coupled withDallas' Texas setting and the Southfork Ranch, makesDallasseem like the blueprint forYellowstone.
It seems the Western genre is well-suited to sprawling stories filled with moral ambiguity, asHell on Wheelsis yet another show that perfectly replaces that aspect ofYellowstone.Hell on Wheelsfollows Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) as he joins the effort to build the transcontinental railroad and seek revenge for the deaths of his wife and son in the American Civil War. Just asYellowstonefocused on several different groups and people vying for the Yellowstone ranch’s land,Hell on Wheelssees everyone trying to stake a claim on a piece of America’s newest and most profitable industry as it’s being built.
Hell on Wheels isn’t unusual in being set in the Old West, but it is unusual that its setting is precisely why it’s such a great follow-up to Yellowstone.
Hell on Wheelsisn’t unusual in being set in the Old West, but it is unusual that its setting is precisely why it’s such a great follow-up toYellowstone. The story of the Duttons - save for1883and1923- is one of an empire coming to its crumbling conclusion. John III and all his children are desperately clinging to an industry that doesn’t have much future left, and trying to keep the vultures from picking them clean.Hell on Wheelsis essentially the inverse ofYellowstone: Bohannon fights to protect a world that hasn’t come yet, rather than one that’s long past.
Chief Rainwater and the Broken Rock reservation were always an integral part ofYellowstone, andDark Windsis the perfect way to dive deeper into their story.Dark Windsfollows Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) as he uncovers a massive web of lies and mysteries while policing the Navajo Nation. In similar fashion toOuter Range,Dark Windsisn’t a typical Western show, but its story is so engrossing that fans ofYellowstoneshould have an easy time getting into its more unrealistic and experimental story.
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AMC’s Dark Winds has gained a reputation as an under-the-radar gem, and season 3 continued the harrowing adventures of Leaphorn and Chee.
The best thing aboutDark Windsis its blend of the thriller and Western genres, which should help it scratch the itchYellowstoneleft behind.Yellowstonewas endlessly capable of delivering shocking moments, truly unexpected twists, and leaving viewers on the edge of their seats for entire seasons.Dark Windsmore than holds its own in comparison, and the many turns its story takes are almost impossible to predict. There are a lot of replacements forYellowstoneout there, andDark Windsis one of the best.
