7 Modern Western Shows That Are 10/10 Masterpieces
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 wonderful wife and precious daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, interviews, and breaking news on select occasion. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own, from supernatural thrillers to historical fiction. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" in 2025 from the Western Writers of America, of which he is a member. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.
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When it comes to the Western genre on television, the classics are always the best. Old-school programs like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Virginian are still so beloved for their timeless charm and almost mythic sensibilities that speak firmly to the traditional values of the genre. But if you go beyond the 20th century, the Western has adapted to the tastes of modern viewers, and it's with those in mind that we've rounded up some of the best period masterworks that bring the Old West (and the modern West) to life.
Now, to run that elephant out of the room ahead of time, you won't find Deadwood on this list. No apologies will be offered here, despite the protests that may ensure. With only seven slots to choose from, it fell off the list and into television jail, with no possibility of parole. Nevertheless, we hope you'll give these other stellar Western (or neo-Western) television shows a go, because they each have their own merits that make them worthy of the masterwork label.
'1883' (2021–2022)
Although Taylor Sheridan's contributions to the genre are not without their controversy, there is no denying that 1883 is his seminal work. Yellowstone may be his most popular, but 1883 feels like Sheridan's own take on a groundbreaking epic like Lonesome Dove, as he chronicles the Duttons' initial journey from Fort Worth, Texas, to Paradise Valley, Montana. It's a breathtaking endeavor, one full of tragedy and heartbreak, love and loss, wonder and excitement. There's nothing made in recent years that's been quite like it.
1883 infuses real Western history with a fictional account of what it was like for wagon trains headed northward into the State of Oregon. With a phenomenal cast that includes Sam Elliott, Isabel May, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill, among others, Sheridan's 10-episode masterpiece is everything about the Old West that you can dream. It's one of those Westerns worth watching over and over.
'American Primeval' (2025)
The Utah War may not be a Western conflict often touched on in the genre, but The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith goes above and beyond for this provocative take on the true history associated with the Mountains Meadow Massacre. American Primeval is a riveting story of Sarah Holloway (Betty Gilpin) as she seeks to escape with her son into the wild frontier, led only by distant mountain man Isaac Reed (Taylor Kitsch). The results are brutal, gripping, and unrelenting, and viewer discretion is certainly advised on account of violence.
Yet, this was the truth about how bloody the West could be, and American Primeval is an exceptional Western miniseries that pulls no punches. Historical figures like Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham) and Brigham Young (Kim Coates) are heavily featured, as the Mormon militia comes in contact with the local Shoshone tribe. While some have called for a sequel, these six episodes stand tall enough on their own.
'Into the West' (2005)
Produced by Steven Spielberg himself, Into the West is an underrated TNT drama that attempts to cover the majority of the 19th century in the span of six 90-minute episodes — and it does so quite mightily. The narrative follows the Wheeler family and their Native American counterparts as they experience the settling of the West from differing perspectives and points of view. Eventually, the families unite in Jacob Wheeler (Matthew Settle) and his wife, Thunder Heart Woman (Tonantzin Carmelo), who bridge these peoples together.
As far as televised epics go, Into the West deserves its place in the annals of Western history. The six-part miniseries boasts a truly stacked cast that includes folks like Josh Brolin, Wes Studi, Keri Russell, Zahn McClarnon, Graham Greene, Sean Astin, and many more, playing mixtures of historical figures and original characters. It's a criminally underrated Western series that accurately explores the trials and tribulations of those who bled and died for this land, no matter which side of the conflict they fell on.
'Justified' (2010–2015)
Okay, now some may consider Justified a bit of a stretch here, and perhaps rightfully so. After all, it takes place east of the Mississippi in rural Kentucky. Nevertheless, U.S. Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) is everything you'd expect from a Western hero; he just happens to reside a little bit further east, is all. To make a greater case, Raylan himself cites episodes of Rawhide and Have Gun – Will Travel as influences on his chosen profession and penchant for cowboy hats, so we think he ought to get a pass.
Justified is based loosely on the works of Western crime author Elmore Leonard, which likewise gives Justified an Old West-branded edge. For six seasons, Raylan has performed his duty to uphold the law in Harlan County, no matter the personal injury or cost. His lawman-style duels are some of the coolest on television, and there's a reason he ranks high on our list of the greatest gunslingers in Western TV history. Even if you're unsure if Justified should be considered a neo-Western, Olyphant's performance here rivals (and arguably exceeds) his work on Deadwood.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Western Icon Are You Most Like? No Name · Doc Holliday · Wyatt Earp · Mattie Ross
Pick your name, your gun, your horse and how you spend a night in town, and we will tell you which legend of the Old West you would have been. Four icons are waiting at the end of this: the stranger who never gives his name, the gambler who would die for a friend, the lawman who never wanted the badge, and the girl nobody has ever talked out of anything.
🚬No Name(Dollars Trilogy)
🃏Doc Holliday(Tombstone)
⭐Wyatt Earp(Tombstone)
🐎Mattie Ross(True Grit)
01
The town is about to learn your name. What do they call you? In a Western, what people call you is already half the character.
02
What are you carrying? Everything out here is character, right down to what is sitting on your hip.
03
What are you riding? A hero and their horse is one of the oldest relationships in cinema.
04
You have got one evening in town. How does it go? The saloon is where these films quietly tell you who somebody really is.
05
A stranger offers you money for a job that sounds like trouble. Somebody always turns up with a full purse and a bad idea.
06
Somebody is waiting for you in the street. What does the town see? Two people, an empty road, and everybody else watching from behind the shutters.
07
What is the one thing you will not do out here? The code is about the only thing west of the river that actually holds.
08
The job is finished. Where does the story leave you? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your icon.
The Dust Has Settled Your Western Icon Is…
Four icons and four completely different ways of walking into trouble. This is the one you would have been out there, why it fits, and what it would have cost you.
The Man With No Name
You have never explained yourself and you have never needed to, because people work out fairly quickly that you are the most capable person in the room without you ever having to mention it.
- Eastwood built the character out of everything he refused to do, stripping away the backstory, the speeches and every bit of reassurance until only the competence was left.
- You keep your own counsel, and while other people occasionally find that unnerving, you have never felt any real need to fix it for them.
- The Dollars films work because he genuinely is in it for himself right up until the moment he is not, and he never explains that part either.
- You would be gone before anybody got a chance to thank you.
Doc Holliday
You are the funniest person in most rooms and the most loyal person in all of them, and you would be genuinely insulted if somebody suggested those two things were in any tension.
- Doc has no real reason to be in this fight beyond the fact that his friend is in it, which is the only reason he has ever needed for anything.
- You lead with wit, and it does a very effective job of hiding how seriously you take the handful of people you actually care about.
- Val Kilmer's performance is the most quoted in the entire genre because the jokes keep getting sharper as the situation gets worse.
- You would spend everything you had on this and still describe it as a good week.
Wyatt Earp
You never wanted this job, and you took it anyway because the alternative was standing there watching somebody less careful do it badly, which is the most Western reason there has ever been.
- Earp is the reluctant authority figure, a man who came to town specifically to be left alone and somehow ended up answerable for all of it.
- You are protective by instinct, so when something goes wrong your first thought is who is exposed rather than who is to blame.
- These films understand that keeping order costs far more than breaking it, and that the person holding the line almost never gets thanked.
- You would do the whole thing again, and you would complain about it the entire time.
Mattie Ross
Nobody has ever successfully talked you out of something you had already decided was right, and a long line of grown adults has found that out the hard way.
- Mattie is the most relentless character in the Western canon and she manages it through argument, paperwork and flat refusal rather than a fast draw.
- You have no patience for being managed, so you negotiate, you check the details and you turn up exactly when you said you would.
- True Grit is the rare Western where the moral centre is the youngest person on screen and every adult around her has to catch up.
- You would get what you came for, and the film is honest about what that takes out of you.
'Longmire' (2012–2017)
Speaking of neo-Western crime dramas, one that is far more unashamedly Western in nature (not to mention location) is Longmire. Another six-season take on a modern lawman with true Old West sensibilities, this A&E-turned-Netflix drama was based on an ongoing series of mystery novels by author Craig Johnson. The show, however, is a loose adaptation that follows the titular Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor), who patrols Absaroka County, Wyoming, best as he knows how — and it's perfect from start to finish.
Not only does Walt engage in the typical shoot-'em-up action bits that make up these sorts of programs, but as an educated and intelligent lawman, he often finds ways around resorting to violence (justified or otherwise) to see his duty through. Many of his adventures take him and his deputies to the home of his best friend, Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) on the local Cheyenne Reservation, contributing to the age-old conflict between "cowboys and Indians." If there was ever a Western series set in modern-day that aimed to capture the spirit of those classic tales, it would be Longmire.
'Damnation' (2017–2018)
Created by former Longmire writer Tony Tost, Damnation is a heavily underrated historical drama that deserves its place here. Although it takes place during the Great Depression — a few decades after the Old West era — it's a period mix between a historical Western and a neo-Western that settles on the same themes and ideas. When political preacher Seth Davenport (Killian Scott) shows up in Holden County to make a stand, it puts him at odds with a familiar strike-breaker, Creeley Turner (Logan Marshall-Green), who does all he can to tear the movement down.
Damnation was once described by Tost to The Lafayette Flyer as "1/3 Clint Eastwood, 1/3 John Steinbeck, 1/3 James Ellroy," and that about sums it up. The Netflix/Universal co-production only ran a single season of 10 episodes, but there was plenty of meaty material within that inspired a cult following. Damnation may not have been a long-running series, but it's easily one of the grittiest Western shows out there that had something a bit more philosophical to say. That said, just like American Primeval, viewer discretion is seriously advised.
'Billy the Kid' (2022–2025)
What began as an Epix original eventually moved to MGM+ and spanned three seasons total, retelling the mythic history of the Wild West's most legendary and memorable outlaw. Billy the Kid was created by Michael Hirst and followed Tom Blythe's portrayal of the notorious gunslinger. At the advent of the Lincoln County War, Billy and his Regulators find themselves nestled on the side of the conflict that just so happens to be opposite the secretive Santa Fe Ring. The results are explosive, and not for the faint of heart.
As far as historical accuracy goes, Billy the Kid changed plenty of things from the real-life story, but the narrative Hirst weaves makes it all worth it. It may not be a perfect Western series in that regard, but the MGM+ drama will grip you tightly through all three seasons, revealing a side to the infamous Kid that doesn't always come out on the screen. History buffs may be a bit disappointed (and perhaps rightly so), but if you're looking for a guns-a-blazing Western adventure, Billy the Kid may be right for you.
Billy the Kid
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2025-00-00
- Showrunner
- Michael Hirst
- Directors
- William A. Graham
- Writers
- Michael Hirst
-
Tom Blyth
Tunstall
-
Eileen O'Higgins
William Bonney
-
Gov. Lew Wallace
-
Dolan
- Main Genre
- Western
- Seasons
- 3
- Producers
- Frank von Zerneck
- Creator(s)
- Michael Hirst
- Streaming Service(s)
- MGM+
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.