Shows Like Yellowstone
Longmire
This Wyoming-set series about dedicated and unflappable sheriff Walt Longmire started out on A&E but was canceled after three seasons. Fans, known as the Longmire Posse, were in an uproar and took to social media to let everyone know. Eventually, Netflix picked Longmire up for another three seasons. Based on a series of crime thriller novels by Craig Johnson, Longmire finds Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) trying to rebuild his life and career following the death of his wife. He hides his pain behind a brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit. With his deputy Victoria “Vic” Moretti (Katee Sackhoff) and his best friend Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips), the sheriff solves crimes in the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. Watch: All six seasons of Longmire are on Netflix. Fun fact: Robert Taylor, who plays Sheriff Longmire, is Australian.
Godless
In this short-lived Netflix original series, notorious criminal Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) and his gang of outlaws are on a mission of revenge against Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), a son-like protégé who betrayed the brotherhood. While on the run, Roy seeks refuge with hardened widower Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), an outcast herself, in the worn-down, isolated mining town of La Belle, New Mexico—a town governed mainly by women after a tragic mining accident. When word reaches La Belle that Griffin is headed their way, the women band together to defend what’s theirs from the murderous gang in a lawless Western frontier. Watch: All seven episodes of the limited series Godless are on Netflix.
Badland
This Western is set over a decade after the Civil War and follows a Pinkerton detective hired to find and kill several men who committed atrocities during the war. The two-hour film stars Kevin Makely as Pinkerton agent Matthias Breecher. As he roams the West, Breecher meets a hearty pioneer woman who is more than she seems. Bruce Dern, Wes Studi and Mira Sorvino round out the all-star cast that puts a new spin on a familiar story. Watch: Badland is available on Netflix. Fun fact: Badland was filmed entirely in Santa Clarita, California, a city just north of Los Angeles.
Westworld
This Emmy-winning HBO series is based off a 1973 film of the same name about a technologically advanced Wild West-themed amusement park written by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain). The 2016-era series Westworld, created by husband-and-wife duo Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, takes place in a fictional, technologically advanced amusement park where wealthy human guests can live out their Wild West fantasies without repercussions. Things get interesting when the android “hosts” that populate the park malfunction and begin killing visitors. Watch: All four seasons of Westworld are on HBO Max. Fun fact: One of the Western town sets used in the show was lost during the 2018 Woolsey Fire which burned almost 100,000 acres across Los Angeles and Ventura counties in California.
Wynonna Earp
Wynonna Earp is a supernatural-horror Western filmed in Alberta, Canada, that aired on SyFy in the U.S. It’s based on a comic book series of the same name created by Beau Smith. Emily Andras developed the series for television and served as showrunner and executive producer. The series follows the great-granddaughter of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. In the paranormal-drama, Wynonna is charged with taking down Revenants—outlaws killed by Wyatt Earp that have been resurrected in the small town of Purgatory because of the Earp Curse. Watch: All four seasons of Wynonna Earp are on Netflix.
Big Sky
Big Sky is a crime thriller/murder mystery that takes place in Big Sky, Montana. The series, based on the book The Highway by C.J. Box, follows Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) and Jenny Hoyt (Kathryn Winnick) who reluctantly paired up to solve the disappearance of girls in the small town. For season 3, country music icon Reba McEntire joined the cast as the season’s villain. Watch: Big Sky: Deadly Trails airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. Big Sky seasons 1-2 are on Hulu and new episodes are available on Hulu the next day.
Tin Star
This British crime thriller stars Tim Roth as Jim Worth, a former London police detective who becomes the chief of police in the sleepy Canadian town of Little Big Bear, located at the edge of the Canadian Rockies. He and his family have relocated a world away in an attempt to escape his violent past. His hopes of living out his life quietly in the small town are dashed when his past catches up to him and he turns to his violent alter-ego, Jack Devlin, to right some wrongs. Watch: All three seasons of Tin Star are on Prime Video.
Succession
A vicious drama about the lives of the 1 percent, Succession centers on media mogul Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox and loosely based on Rupert Murdoch) and his power-hungry family. Although not based in the West, Yellowstone fans will see similarities in their many secrets and schemes. The Roys’ lives are the stuff of thrillers–but it’s money and reputation, not life and death, that hang in the balance. The show has aired three seasons on HBO and has been picked up for a fourth season coming to HBO in 2023. Watch: Stream the first three seasons of Succession on HBO Max.
Bloodline
This Netflix series is set in the Florida Keys and centers around four adult siblings whose secrets and lies are unearthed when their black sheep brother returns home. Bloodline stars Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini, and Norbert Leo Butz as the four siblings. Watch: Stream all three seasons of Bloodline on Netflix.
Dances With Wolves
If you’re looking for another Kevin Costner Western, look no further. Starring, produced, and directed by Costner, the 1990 epic garnered seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. Watch: Dances With Wolves is available to rent or buy on Prime Video, YouTube, iTunes and Vudu.
The Young Riders
This series follows a group of Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater station in Nebraska. Some of the riders are the younger versions of their future famous selves including Wild Bill Hickok (a pre-Thanos Josh Brolin), Buffalo Bill (Stephen Baldwin) and later Jesse James (Christopher Pettiet). It also featured a pre-Oscar winning Melissa Leo in one of her first main cast roles as Emma Shannon, the caretaker at the Sweetwater Station. Watch:All three seasons can be viewed for free on IMDB TV. Next, everything we know about the Yellowstone Prequel Y: 1883.
