Image via Prime Video
Published Jun 16, 2026, 8:11 PM EDT
Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, and conducts interviews. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, was released in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.
Sign in to your Collider account
There is no shortage of Western television shows out there worth binging through again and again. But while programs like Gunsmoke and Yellowstone dominate streaming charts, there are countless other horse operas that deserve to be followed into that masterful Old West sunset. In this case, we've put together different Western shows worth revisiting not just once, but time and again.
We're skipping popular entries here, like Bonanza, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Longmire, Deadwood, Justified, and other great horse operas that have been considered among the best that the genre (past or present) has to offer. Instead, we're highlighting some of the often overlooked Western programs, those that either didn't find the following they deserved or have been passed by in favor of supposedly greener pastures. These are the Westerns that you'll want to return to after every binge.
'The Son' (2017–2019)
Image via AMCIt's been said before that The Son is basically everything that Yellowstone should have been, and there's certainly some truth to that. Pierce Brosnan shines as Texas "First Son" and cattle patriarch Eli McCullough, whose story is told in two forms (his youth in the 1850s and his old age in the early 20th century) across the show's intense two seasons. Full to the brim with action, suspense, and complicated familial drama, you won't want to miss it.
The Son tackles everything from Eli's complicated coming-of-age among the Comanches to his battle to establish his family legacy. The AMC hit didn't last long (ending before Yellowstone even got popular) but it made a serious impact at the time. The near-perfect Western's exploration of American mythology and legend on top of historical truth makes it stand out from most of its contemporaries. Plus, Brosnan is simply exceptional.
'Klondike' (2014)
Image via Discovery ChannelDespite making waves as Discovery Channel's first scripted drama, Klondike has been slept on by many who watched the three-part drama once and then moved on. However, there's no better time to revisit the Gold Rush-era miniseries than the present. Richard Madden stars as gold-seeker Bill Haskell as he travels to the far reaches of Alaska in an effort to strike it rich. Of course, Dawson City won't make it easy.
Klondike is one of the better one-season Western shows, and its unique environment sets this horse opera apart from the usual duty trails and Rocky Mountain highs we associate with the genre. Madden is great too, joined by a capable supporting cast that includes Sam Sheppard, Abbie Cornish, Tim Roth, and Tim Blake Nelson. Produced by none other than Ridley Scott, this is a historical drama perfect for those curious about the last frontier.
'Dark Winds' (2022–Present)
Image via AMCBased on the popular mystery novels by Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds is the only show on this list that's still going, and we hope it will last quite a bit longer. Produced by Robert Redford and George R. R. Martin, the crime drama takes place on the Navajo reservation in the early 1970s as Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and his tribal police force solve a new mystery each season. With four to choose from so far (and another on the way), there's no time like the present to start your binge.
Although technically a neo-Western with neo-noir elements, Dark Winds is a criminally forgotten Western series that's often overlooked in today's age of streaming. As one of the best shows currently on air (Western-related or otherwise), it's easy to jump back into the world of Leaphorn, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) any time you're in the mood for something a bit more psychologically complex. We've got some time until Season 5 comes out, so add this one to your watchlist pronto!
'Outer Range' (2022–2024)
Image via Prime VideoArguably the most innovative Western drama in the last few years, Outer Range starts as a time-warping neo-Western drama that follows a struggling Wyoming ranch family as they fight to keep both their land and their children in the home (and not in jail). However, as the Prime Video program continued, it evolved into a compelling blend of neo-Western and traditional Western as timelines blurred, and our protagonists found themselves in new (old) worlds.
Sadly, Outer Range was canceled before we got any real answers, but don't let that stop you from rewatching this mind-bending series. This two-season Western series is a perfect binge that delivers on all fronts, with incredible performances from Josh Brolin and Lili Taylor to boot. What it lacks in a legitimate conclusion, it more than makes up for with the journey.
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz
Which Taylor Sheridan
Show Do You Belong In?
Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn't write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
FIND YOUR WORLD →
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan's world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
ALand, legacy, and a name that's been feared and respected for generations. BKnowing the deal better than anyone else in the room — and being willing to walk away first. CReputation. I've earned it the hard way, and everyone in the room knows it. DBeing the only person both sides will talk to. That makes me indispensable — and dangerous.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan's universe is always absolute — and always costly.
AFamily — blood or chosen. The ranch, the name, the people who carry it with me. BThe company — or whoever's signing the cheques. Loyalty follows the contract. CMy crew. The men who stood with me when it counted — I don't abandon them for anything. DMy community — even when my community is a powder keg and I'm the only thing stopping it from blowing.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it's crossed.
AQuietly, decisively, and in a way that sends a message to everyone watching. BI outmanoeuvre them legally, financially, and politically before they even know I've moved. CDirectly. Old school. You cross me, you hear about it to your face — and then you deal with the consequences. DI absorb it, calculate the fallout, and find the move that keeps the whole system from collapsing.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan's worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
AWide open land — mountains, sky, silence. Somewhere you can see trouble coming from a mile away. BThe oil fields of West Texas — brutal, lucrative, and indifferent to whoever happens to be standing on top of them. CA mid-size city where the rules haven't quite caught up yet — fertile ground for someone with vision and nerve. DA rust-belt town built around a prison — where everyone's life is shaped by what's inside those walls.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
AI do what has to be done to protect what's mine. I'll answer for it eventually — but not today. BGrey is just business. The line moves depending on what's at stake, and I move with it. CI have a code — it's not the law's code, but it's mine, and I don't break it. DI've made peace with it. Keeping the peace requires compromises most people don't have the stomach for.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they're defending.
AA way of life that the modern world is doing everything it can to erase. BMy position — and the leverage that comes with being the person everyone needs to close a deal. CRelevance. I've been away, I've been written off — and I'm proving that was a mistake. DWhatever fragile order I've managed to build — because without it, everything burns.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan's world is never given — it's established, maintained, and constantly tested.
ABy example and force of will. People follow me because they believe in what I'm protecting — and because they know what happens if they don't. BThrough negotiation and leverage. I don't need people to like me — I need them to need me. CBy being the smartest, most experienced person in the room and making sure everyone quietly knows it. DBy being the calm centre of a situation that would spiral without me — and accepting that nobody thanks you for it.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
AThey'll learn. Or they won't. Either way, the land was here before them and it'll be here after. BI figure out what they want, what they're worth, and whether they're an asset or a problem — fast. CI was the outsider once. I give them a chance — one — to show they understand respect. DNew players destabilise everything I've built. I assess the threat and manage it before it manages me.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
AMy family's peace — maybe their innocence. The ranch demands everything, and I've let it take too much. BRelationships, time, any version of a normal life. The job eats everything that isn't nailed down. CYears. Decades in some cases. Time I can't get back — but I'm not done yet. DMy conscience, mostly. And the ability to ever fully trust anyone on either side of the wall.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
When it's over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan's characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
AThat I held the line. That the land is still ours and everything I did was worth it. BThat I was the best at what I did and that no deal ever got closed without me at the table. CThat I built something real, somewhere nobody expected it, and I did it on my own terms. DThat I kept the peace when nobody else could — and that the town is still standing because of it.
REVEAL MY SHOW →
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you're complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world's indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you're willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family's weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what's yours, you don't escalate — you finish it. You're not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone's world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn't make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You're a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they'll do to get it. You're not naive enough to think this world is fair. You're smart enough to be the one deciding who it's fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you're not above reminding people that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they'd be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they're more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don't need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you're the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky's world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You've made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
'How the West Was Won' (1976–1979)
Image via ABCWhen you think of How the West Was Won, your mind probably goes to the '60s Western epic. When you think of James Arness, you probably think of Gunsmoke. However, when you put the two together, you get the three-season ABC television series that deserves to be remembered fondly for its expansive take on the Old West. With 90-minute episodes and long-running plotlines that span across several years in the post-Civil War era, the story of the Macahan family is one that Western diehards ought not ignore.
Over the course of nearly 30 episodes, the Macahans dealt with just about every Western hardship imaginable. From sickness and tragedy to war and the threat of starvation, How the West Was Won pulled no punches when it came to the hardships (but also the joys) of frontier living. As a 10/10 Western drama, we're happy to report that this series is slowly coming back into style.
'The Magnificent Seven' (1998–2000)
Image via CBSOne '90s series that's better than it's given credit for, The Magnificent Seven is a thrilling television adaptation of the 1960 film of the same name. Well, not so much an adaptation as perhaps a re-imagining. With the series format, The Magnificent Seven allows us more time with each member of the titular posse. Indeed, across two stellar seasons, this CBS program turns the gunmen into genuinely well-rounded protagonists rather than stock characters.
Michael Biehn, Eric Close, and Laurie Holden are only a few of the capable stars cobbled together here in this frontier drama that exceeds all your expectations. Sure, the first (extended) episode is basically a remake of the original flick, but once the Seven are united on the screen, that's where the real magic happens. Even better, although the show ends somewhat abruptly, it doesn't leave audiences on a massive cliffhanger, so it's easy to just pick back up and binge again!
'Billy the Kid' (2022–2025)
Not everyone has the same streaming services, and when it comes to streamers like MGM+, only those with the Prime Video add-on are likely to see any of the original content produced there. And that's a shame, because Billy the Kid is an exceptional Western series that certainly warrants multiple watches. In three seasons, the series tells the life of the titular outlaw (played by Tom Blyth), and although it makes some considerable changes from the historical narrative, it's full of all that mythic flair that makes the Old West so grand.
Billy the Kid details the circumstances surrounding the famed Lincoln County War that broke out across New Mexico in the late 1870s, highlighting (and elevating) the lead outlaw's role in the conflict. From devious political machinations to rambling south of the border, the Epix-turned-MGM+ series offers some relevant commentary that feels just as true today as it did back then. But even if you ignore all the comparisons to modern day, you'll find that Billy the Kid is perfectly enjoyable as a mythic tale of an American outlaw.
'Have Gun – Will Travel' (1957–1963)
Image via CBSFor some, calling Have Gun – Will Travel "underrated" doesn't make sense. After all, the popular six-season Western is still beloved by Old West aficionados across today's "savage land." Indeed, it's this author's favorite classic horse opera, save perhaps Gunsmoke itself! But Richard Boone's Paladin isn't as well-known now as he was back in his heyday, and the show has certainly been overshadowed even in recent years by other traditional TV Westerns that have made a small screen comeback.
Have Gun – Will Travel perfected the "wandering gunman" trope in Western television. The famed "Man in Black" is the type of gun-toting hero just about everyone can get behind, and his ability to use his brain on top of his six-shooter made him stand out among other quick-draws on television. With over 200 episodes to choose from, it's easy to binge this half-hour Western on repeat. It's certainly aged like fine wine.
English (US) ·