10 Great Non-Western TV Shows That Feel Like Westerns

The Western genre is usually extremely distinctive and instantly recognizable for its common tropes, like a desert or frontier setting, vigilante justice, and antihero characters, in the case of most more recent Westerns. Classic Western movies have inspired some surprising modern TV shows, but even the best neo-Westerns on TV are generally recognizable through their costume designs and character writing.

While even the best game-changing Western TV shows of all time tend to fit clearly into their genre, some fantastic TV shows are not so easily defined. The themes found in Westerns are easily transferable to other genres, resulting in genre mixes like the "space Western" popularized by Firefly. Some great TV shows may not be typical Westerns, but they have a similar tone.

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is one of the best entries in the Star Wars franchise, and follows the lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin, as he carries out a mission to collect "the child," but goes on the run with him instead, aiming to reunite him with his own kind. The Mandalorian explores themes of responsibility and fatherhood, while generally following a "monster of the week" format.

Despite being a sci-fi TV show, The Mandalorian feels like a Western. Din Djarin is similar to many of the greatest Western characters of all time, like The Lone Ranger and The Man With No Name. Even the locations and costume design reflect this, with Djarin exploring frontier-style towns, wearing spurs and carrying rifle rounds across his chest.

Breaking Bad

Walter White is arguably the greatest TV antihero of all time, and the character marked a career-best performance for Bryan Cranston, making him a household name shortly after Breaking Bad first aired. While the show follows White as he becomes a career criminal and adopts the identity of Heisenberg, it is vigilante characters like Hank that make Breaking Bad feel like a Western.

Breaking Bad's cinematic shots of the meth-making process are one of the most memorable features of the show, but all this takes place against the backdrop of the desert, which almost becomes another character in its own right. The desert feels like The Wild West, and Breaking Bad is full of last-man-standing gunfights and lawmen who act alone.

Sons Of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy has many influences, with the most well-known being Shakespeare's tragic play Hamlet. However, the story is presented as a Western, with sheriffs, shootouts, and a literal "outlaw motorcycle club" at the center of the action. Jax and the club are involved in territorial disputes, and the show even features one of the biggest modern Western genre stars.

Before becoming best known for creating Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan played Deputy David Hale in Sons of Anarchy for 21 episodes. While Hale was far from the lone ranger type that is typical in Westerns, other characters like Althea Jarry and Eli Roosevelt filled that role. Later, Yellowstone echoed Sheridan's graphic death in Sons of Anarchy, but with the cowboys defeating the bikers.

The Shield

The Shield's Detective Vic Mackey is one of TV's most divisive characters, bringing his nuanced sense of justice to every situation. While many Western genre heroes can be brutal, they are generally still good characters at heart. On the other hand, Mackey is not afraid to strike deals with criminals, commit crimes himself, and even kill one of his own team to protect others.

All seven seasons of The Shield are perfect from start to finish, and the show even features its own version of a common Western genre storyline. Vic and the Strike Team carry out a heist, taking an enormous share of Armenian mob money, and while this event is one of the best sequences in the show, it is the catalyst for the team's downfall.

Firefly

Firefly arguably popularized the space Western genre, and the short-lived TV series became a cult classic, partly because of its Western elements. The show follows the crew and passengers on the Serenity as they take on another passenger, who is being pursued by shady government officials. Each episode has a standalone story that fits into the main arc, and most have strong Western genre connections.

Firefly puts a sci-fi twist on Western stories and characters, with many of the characters living just outside the law, even committing a train heist that feels straight out of a classic Western movie. The episode "Heart of Gold" takes the crew to a bordello, where a character describes the episode's villain as "living out Wild West fantasies."

Warrior

Warrior might be set during the Tong Wars in San Francisco's Chinatown, but the show feels like a Western. The story follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy, as he is pulled into the world of organized crime. Warrior is a martial arts masterpiece and a crime drama, but it brings in Western tropes like bar brawls, corruption, and fights over territory.

The story was based on an original concept by Bruce Lee, who wanted to create a show combining martial arts influences with the American Old West. Warrior has a 95% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and, as may be expected, features some visually stunning martial arts sequences. However, it has the gritty feel of a neo-Western despite being a historical show.

Preacher

The influx of great supernatural Western TV shows has almost become a subgenre of its own, with Preacher nearing the top of the list. The show is heavily inspired by the Western genre and takes this to the maximum through its aesthetic style and character tropes. Preacher is a supernatural dark comedy series based on the comic book of the same name.

The story follows Jesse Custer, a preacher who has a crisis of faith, discovers he has a new supernatural gift, and goes on a quest to find himself. The show takes inspiration from well-known Western characters and features one of the best villains in a supernatural drama in the Saint of Killers, who is simply referred to as The Cowboy in the first season.

Fallout

While fans of the Fallout games will likely see the iconic blue jumpsuit as the standout image in the show, new viewers are more likely to find Walton Goggins' The Ghoul unforgettable. The Ghoul feels like a post-apocalyptic version of his character in Justified, and while Fallout takes a lot of inspiration from the 1950s, it also feels like a Western.

When Lucy leaves the safety of an underground bunker, she discovers an entirely new world in the post-apocalyptic desert. Here, people live by different rules, and the world carries the same atmosphere as a frontier town, including resistance to strangers. Fallout is both retro and futuristic, but the show's themes and main characters would not be out of place in a classic Western.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is a horror show that hooked us right from the start, but its iconic pilot episode looks straight out of a Western. After waking from a coma in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, Rick Grimes rides into Atlanta on horseback, wearing his sheriff's uniform. The scene is one of the best in The Walking Dead, which then continues to resemble a Western.

Each season of The Walking Dead has a slightly different tone as the characters adapt to their new situation, but the Western tropes remain, while looking a little different than expected. Rick is a lawmaker and leader who regularly has to make tough decisions, many characters have vigilante moments, and much of The Walking Dead involves territory disputes, especially with Alpha.

Tulsa King

Taylor Sheridan's TV shows are generally Westerns, but Tulsa King stands out for several reasons. The show is a crime drama that transplants typical mobster tropes and storylines into Oklahoma, and follows a mafia capo who is exiled to Tulsa and begins to build an entirely new crew. The show has an 88% positive critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes and stars Sylvester Stallone.

Taylor Sheridan's Westerns tend to be modern and gritty, and he brings this style to Tulsa King, which also incorporates themes and storylines often found in classic Westerns. Season 2 even introduces new "cowboy villains," and the show highlights the same individualism promoted by some of the great Western TV heroes, with Stallone's character, Dwight, trying to reclaim a place in the world.