11 Great Western Shows to Watch After ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’
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We're always happy to welcome a new show to the Taylor Sheridan cinematic universe, and Lawmen: Bass Reeves is the most recent show to premiere from the Yellowstone creator. If you need a quick refresher, Bass Reeves is based on the real-life man of the same name. Reeves was an American lawman and the first Black deputy west of the Mississippi River, and it’s believed that he arrested over 3,000 felons and outlaws during his career, and was never seriously wounded. In the show, Reeves is played by David Oyelowo, who helped develop the project with Sheridan.
“I’ve known Taylor for a while. We met at the Sundance Film Festival quite a few years ago now, but this was before Yellowstone…And it wasn’t until the sort of reinvigoration—not only of the Western, but it’s a certain kind of storytelling that Taylor has brought back to popularity, and to prove that there is a massive audience for it is one of the ways you get a show like a Bass Reeves off the ground,” Oyelowo told The Hollywood Reporter. And so, we had a conversation a few years ago now, and with time it just became more of a self-fulfilling prophecy that this was going to happen."
The intriguing storytelling and true crime element of Bass Reeves captured fans during its first season, and while Season 1 is now over, that doesn't mean your binge watch of Western-related content has to be over. To help you continue to delve into all things Western, we've compiled a list that'll keep you on your couch for hours.
Here are the best shows to watch like Lawmen: Bass Reeves to watch next.
1883 (2021 - 2022)
Of course, we have to start with another Taylor Sheridan creation, and while the two shows don’t have intersecting storylines, Bass Reeves and 1883 actually take place around the time in history. 1883 follows John Dutton’s ancestors as they make their way across the country before settling in Montana and starting what would become their Yellowstone Ranch.
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Justified (2010- 2015)
This FX original stars Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, and his character definitely embodies some characteristics of an Old West sheriff. His unorthodox tactics get him assigned to work in Kentucky in the Appalachian mountain region area, which is where he also happened to grow up.
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Billy The Kid (2022 - )
You’ve probably heard about the gunfighter and outlaw Billy the Kid, but it’s also likely that you don’t know much about his backstory. This series dives right into his childhood and descent into crime, as well as the Lincoln County War. The first part of the second season premiered in October 2023, and part two is set to be released in 2024. The show stars The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes star Tom Blyth.
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Godless (2017)
If you’re short on time, this Netflix miniseries is just seven episodes. In Godless, a young outlaw is on the run from his former boss, and he winds up in the small town of La Belle, New Mexico, which is populated almost entirely by women after the majority of men in the town are killed in a tragic mining accident.
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Deadwood (2004 - 2006)
Set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, this show tells the story of how Deadwood went from a gold mining camp to a bustling city. Real-life Deadwood residents and other historical figures are featured in the series, and their storylines are an intriguing mix of both truthful and fictional.
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The Pinkertons (2014 - 2015)
This Canadian production focuses on actual past crime cases of the Pinkerton detective agency from the agency’s archive, which date back to the 1860s. The private security guard and detective agency was established around 1850, and at one time, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world, although the agency later came under fire for its strikebreaking and union busting efforts.
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Dark Winds (2022 - )
Based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman, this series follows Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee in the 1970s era Southwest, and a third season is scheduled to arrive in 2024.
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Hell on Wheels (2011 - 2016)
Hell on Wheels is set in the late 1860s, and it’s all about the construction of the first transcontinental railroad across the U.S. Protagonist Cullen Bohannon is a former Confederate soldier who is on a mission to avenge the murder of his wife and son. In the process, he becomes a railroad man and eventually a foreman and then an engineer.
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The Son (2017 - 2019)
Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer, Pierce Brosnan stars as Eli McCullough, a 1915 Texas cattle baron who wants to become an oilman. The story is also intercut with the story of his kidnapping back in 1849.
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Longmire (2012 - 2017)
Longmire gets its source material from the Walt Longmire Mysteries novels by Craig Johnson, and it follows Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire and his best friend and confidant Henry Standing Bear. Interestingly, even though Longmire became the highest-rated original drama series on A&E at the time, the network later announced that they would not renew the show after Season 3. Luckily, Netflix decided to pick up the show, and it lasted three more seasons.
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Joe Pickett (2021 - 2023)
Based on C.J. Box's novel series of the same name, this neo-Western is centered on Joe Pickett and his family. Pickett is a game warden (a law enforcement officer that protects wildlife and the environment) in Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park.
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