TV Westerns ‘Longmire’ and ‘Godless’ Are Very on Trend

Fans of Westerns—both contemporary and traditional—you don’t have to wait until the return of Westworld this spring to get your fix. (Well, if you like your Westerns with a side of robots, you do.) Netflix is easing the pain with two ­terrific binge-worthy series: Longmire and Godless.

Longmire just launched its final season, and some heavy decisions await upstanding Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor, above). According to executive producers Greer Shephard and Hunt ­Baldwin, the theme for the last episodes is “Adapt or Die,” conceived as a meditation on loss and saying goodbye.

Godless – Michelle Dockery

On the surface, Godless appears to be a typical ­Western, featuring a community banding together to protect itself from a depraved outlaw (Jeff Daniels) in 1880s New Mexico. There are gun fights, ­battles between good and evil and—naturally­—old-fashioned prairie romance.

But this time, the heroes are a bunch of widows whose husbands passed away in a mining accident. “A Western is every actor’s dream,” says star Michelle Dockery (above). “But it’s a sandbox you don’t get to play in very often.” Giddy-up.

Longmire, Netflix
Godless, Netflix