11 Best TV Westerns of All Time

Dan Clarendon

The midday sun is nearly blinding as a sheriff and an outlaw face off on a dusty street, their hands hovering over their holsters, one heartbeat away from a draw that could mean life or death. Onlookers watch with bated breath… including the millions watching the action from their living room sofas.

Yes, Western series have been television standbys for decades, and over the decades, they’ve gone from stereotypical cop-and-robber tales to more nuanced, inclusive stories of frontier-set conflicts between good and evil. And nowadays, it’s not just the white man who gets to wear the proverbial white hat!

Accounting for narrative force, cultural impact, and plain old shootout action, here are our picks for the best TV westerns of all time.

11
Bonanza
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Bonanza

1959–1973

The second longest-running Western and the first broadcast in color, Bonanza follows a man and his three sons as they tend to their Ponderosa ranch and to social issues in their 19th-century Nevada community. Think characters exchanging ideas, not just gunfire!

10
Yellowstone
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Yellowstone

2018–2024

Taylor Sheridan’s modern-day Western is an undeniable phenomenon, with a fanbase as wide as the Duttons’ property. Kevin Costner plays the owner of the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, though his empire is under constant threat from external threats and from familial strife.

9
Firefly
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Firefly

2002–2003

A Western… in space? Believe it! In this canceled-too-soon, aired-out-of-order series, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Alan Tudyk are some of the smugglers eking out survival in the final frontiers of a war-torn galaxy. Showdowns, gunfights, and robberies ensue; there’s even an episode titled “The Train Job.”

8
Longmire
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Longmire

2012–2017

Robert Taylor offered a Western hero for the 21st century in this crime drama, playing a Wyoming sheriff of few words and many issues, chief among them the untimely death of his wife. Good thing Sheriff Walt Longmire has his allies, including Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) of the nearby Cheyenne reservation.

7
Hell on Wheels
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Hell on Wheels

2011–2016

Turns out, building the first transcontinental railroad was no easy task, especially after the ravages of the Civil War. Through the perspective of an ex-Confederate soldier, a formerly-enslaved man, a Cheyenne Christian convert, and other characters, Hell on Wheels depicts a country in violent transition.

6
Dark Winds
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Dark Winds

2022–

Winner of a Western Heritage Award, this 1970s-set thriller stars Zahn McClarnon as a Navajo Police lieutenant and Kiowa Gordon as his new deputy as the two men struggle to solve a series of crimes near the Four Corners. And with George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford as executive producers, you can’t go wrong.

5
Godless
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Godless

2017

Merritt Wever and Jeff Daniels both won Emmys for this miniseries, a far-too-rare example of a female-led Western. As a man outruns the criminal he betrayed in the 1880s, he finds refuge and allies with the women now running the mining town of La Belle, New Mexico. (Of course, his past catches up to him in violent fashion.)

4
Gunsmoke
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Gunsmoke

1955–1975

A radio drama became a TV show that ranked for decades as the United States’ longest-running live-action primetime series. For 20 years (and in TV movies over another 20 years), Jim Arness played a U.S. marshal keeping order in Dodge City, Kansas, and keeping bandits and outlaws out of town.

3
Lonesome Dove
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Lonesome Dove

1989

A Golden Globe-winning miniseries based on a Pulitzer-winning novel by Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove was a critical and commercial smash hit. Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as ex-Texas Rangers who leave their peaceful existence in the titular town and find new adventure in a cattle drive to Montana.

2
Justified
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Justified

2010–2015

Eastern Kentucky isn’t a typical setting for a Western, but otherwise, this modern-day Elmore Leonard adaptation has all the conventions of an oater. Timothy Olyphant plays a U.S. Marshal — with a quick draw and a quicker wit — who reopens old feuds and old wounds when he’s reassigned to his Appalachian hometown.

1
Deadwood
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Deadwood

2004–2006

Olyphant, coincidentally or not, also starred in this acclaimed drama set in the dangerous, depraved Deadwood, South Dakota, during the 1870s gold rush. Everyone’s gunning for themselves — including historic figures like Seth Bullock, Al Swearengen, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok — but not everyone gets equal fortune.

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  1. G

    GreenCoffee

    Wagon Train, The Virginian, Cheyenne, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Lawman, Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, The Rifleman.The High Chaparral. I grew up with all these and the ones mentioned in the article and other poster’s comments. The Rifleman taught excellent moral values. I feel an episode of it should be shown to Middle Schoolers once per week. Liberals will gasp and Ooo and Ahh But But it has firearms in it !! It has scenes of Gasp violence!! Right. Have you seen what many of these kids view in video games, less alone modern TV ?? They won’t become warped psychos from watching The Rifleman once a week. But they just might learn some solid moral values. I still watch most of these old shows.

    6

    1. G

      GreenCoffee

      My wife liked F Troop but it was a little To silly for me. To me if you want a Comedy Western watch The Shakiest Gun In The West starring Don Knotts or The Villain starring Kirk Douglas and Paul Lynde. Of course out of these I mentioned on this comment only F Troop was a series the other two just one time movies

    2. O

      OrangeCherries

      Yes Yes Yes

  2. G

    GoldTrumpet

    The only problem with all the Sheraton shows is the horrible language. You cannot watch anything he creates with your family. To me, that takes it off any 'greatest' list. The man can't tell a story without using the f-bomb in every scene (more then once). It is too bad. I watched them all for a while. But I had not used the f word in 30 years. Six months of Sheraton crap I used it three times in a week. It is not acceptable. They are all off my watch list.

    5

  3. G

    GreenPalmtree

    Pleased to see that Hell on Wheels made your list, but 1883 (the Yellowstone-related one-season series) is one of the best Westerns I've ever watched.

    4

    1. G

      GreenPretzel

      But the ending was a rush job.

  4. G

    GoldRing

    Not enough classic westerns on this list.

    4

  5. C

    CyanPin

    You left out the number one of all time: LARAMIE!!!

    3

    1. G

      GreenCoffee

      Oh Wow !! That’s true !! Laramie was a great show !!

  6. O

    OliveBandAid

    Lonesome Dove is greatest of all time

    3

  7. B

    BlueTooth

    The rifleman should’ve made this list

    3

    1. G

      GreenCoffee

      I agree fully.

  8. G

    GoldTrumpet

    The person writing this must be young. Grasshopper, there are so many good Western not on your list.

    Wagon train

    Rawhide

    Have fun will travel

    The Virginian

    Rifleman

    The High Chaparral

    Branded

    Kung fu

    Laredo

    I grew up on these with of course,

    Bonanza and Gunsmoke.

    2

    1. C

      CyanDog

      Dang! I forgot

      The Big Valley

      Wild Wild West - A little western, a little Sci-Fi, a little comedy and Artimis Gordon!

      2

  9. O

    OrangeCherries

    Whoever made this list should go back to the drawing boards

    2

  10. O

    OrangeBasketball

    Maverick for me and Laramie

    2

  11. B

    BlueSailboat

    It never fails. You use modern day thinking to evaluate the western genre. How do you pass over the true classics like Laramie and Lawman?? You’re limited in your research and knowledge

    2

  12. P

    PurpleAnchor

    Hell on Wheels and Deadwood are my favorites. Brisco County was like a comedy western but pretty good. Wild Wild West also

    2

  13. O

    OrangeRaindrop

    Is Justified a western? Sure he wears a hat and boots but Florida, Kentucky, and Ohio? But no, I wouldn’t know how to class it differently.

    1

  14. C

    CyanTag

    Justified and Deadwood are excellent, but better than Lonesome Dove?

    1

  15. J

    Jimilee

    Rio Bravo and Eldorado

  16. C

    CyanCoathanger

    Everything Western Dave said I agree 3 times! Whoever wrote this article is VERY young!

  17. G

    GreenCoffee

    Just thought of another one !! Branded with Chuck Connors !! We used to joke about the theme song in school. 🎵🎶 Stranded stranded on the toilet bowl. What do you do when you’re stranded and there’s not another roll ? 🎵🎶 🤣🤣🤣

  18. G

    GreenBowtie

    Predictable product placement. Rounded up from the Lazy T ranch. T for twats that is

  19. C

    CyanCoathanger

    Excellent

    Deadwood & Justifed were outstanding!