25 Shows Like 'Yellowstone' to Watch When You're in the Mood for a Good Neo-Western

Created by Todd Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, the team behind FX’s Damages,  Bloodline was one of Netflix’s first original series. The three-season long drama focuses on the Rayburn family, specifically the family’s four adult children, and the secrets that every member holds as they all come together for their parent’s 45th wedding anniversary. Set on Islamorada, one of the islands in the Florida Keys, the show explores just how far individuals are willing to go to seemingly protect their families despite how much self-harm they may bring about in the process. Featuring an incredible ensemble of performers like Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline is a tense, mystery-filled ride that is worth watching from start to finish.

The Duttons didn’t always have such a strong hold over the Yellowstone region, but thanks to 1883, Yellowstone fans have a much clearer idea of how the family’s sprawling ranch first took root. A prequel series also created by Taylor Sheridan, 1883 is set in post-Civil War America and follows the Dutton’s long path from leaving Tennessee to creating a new life for themselves in Montana. In addition to solid writing and beautiful cinematography, the series features an all-star cast- including real-life married couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill who play the original leaders of the Dutton family- that do a wonderful job expanding upon the rich world of Yellowstone. 

After Jason Mamoa’s Khal Drogo left Game of Thrones and joined the great khalasar in the sky, the actor was ready for a leading role in his own premium television series. In Peter and Rob Blackie’s Frontier, Mamoa plays Declan Harp, a trapper who is trying to disrupt the Hudson Bay Company’s fur trading monopoly in Canada during the late 18th century. The three-seasons-long series follows the intricacies of the North American fur trade, including corporate corruption and the anti-British sentiments permeating throughout the “New World” at the time, and features a fantastic ensemble that constantly delivers on heavy emotional themes.  

Taylor Sheridan may spend a lot of time writing each and every episode of Yellowstone, but he’s also hard at work developing a number of series for Paramount+. One such show is Mayor of Kingstown, a crime drama that centers on brutality and corruption inside the American incarceration system. Set in Kingstown, Michigan, the series follows Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), the city’s de facto shot caller and the leader of a powerful local family, as he tries to bring about some sense of order and justice to the city he was once desperate to escape.

No official release date has been given, but a second season has already been announced for people who were worried that Sheridan wasn’t busy enough.

Set in Birmingham, England following World War I, Peaky Blinders follows the titular working-class gang and their brutal leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) as they try to secure comfortable lives for themselves and adapt with the times. Loosely based on the exploits of a real British crime organization that is famous for their peaked flat caps (and potentially even stuffing those hats with razor blades), Peaky Blinders is an epic, action-packed series that sees the ambitious, young Blinders outmaneuver rivals and government officials as they slowly become a force to be reckoned with. On top of all of the action and fascinating character work, the series explores relevant themes like nationalism, the march towards fascism, and the effects of racism after WWI unleashed a torrent of new feelings and political movements across the U.K. The series’s sixth and final season recently dropped on Netflix, but fans of the show are in luck because series creator Steven Knight confirmed that the infamous Birmingham crew’s story will come to a close in a feature film that is set to start filming sometime next year. 

Sometimes television shows or products become so successful that they influence pitches for future shows. Having said that, there’s absolutely no way that the pitch for Brian Watkin’s sci-fi western series Outer Range didn’t mention Yellowstone at least once. 

Starring Josh Brolin as Royal Abbott, a Wyoming rancher who will do anything he can to protect his family and maintain their land, Outer Range follows the Abbotts as they undergo a personal crisis. Not only do the Abbots have to protect themselves from an investigation into a supposed murder on their property, but they have to figure out what’s going on with a mysterious hole that suddenly appeared on their property. Riveting and perplexing in equal parts, Outer Range is a unique and beautifully shot series that isn’t afraid to take risks.

The only reality show on this list, Man Vs. Wild follows Bear Grylls, a former member of the British Special Air Services after he is dropped in remote locations and forced to survive the extreme wilderness. While the “unscripted” series and Yellowstone don’t have a lot in common on the surface, both shows focus on tough individuals who are willing and able to do anything to survive. No Man Vs. Wild episodes take place directly in or around Yellowstone National Park, but some standout episodes include one where Grylls traverses the wilderness of nearby South Dakota and another where he explores the extremes of the Arctic Circle. 

After The Sopranos left a mobster-sized hole in HBO’s lineup, Terence Winter launched Boardwalk Empire, a look at corruption and organized crime in Atlantic City during the days of prohibition. The series follows Nicky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the power-hungry Treasurer of Atlantic City who also participates in the city’s illegal activities, as he oversees a rebellious, ever-evolving city that is bursting with action. While the story itself is fictional, the series does include notorious gangsters like Al Capone for anyone out there interested in how real-life criminals acted during the days of prohibition. 

With a few spin-offs currently airing and in development, The Walking Dead has evolved into a sprawling franchise for AMC. Despite all the zombie mayhem, at its core, The Walking Dead is a series all about the various forces that impact our humanity and just how far people will go to survive. Based on Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard’s comic book of the same name, The Walking Dead is an intense, action-packed show that constantly keeps its characters and their complex emotions in the foreground despite all of the chaos taking place.   

Before Kevin Costner joined the Yellowstone-verse, he cut his TV teeth and even won a Golden Globe on the History Channel’s three-part miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. Based on the infamous, real-life feud between two families along the West Virginia-Kentucky borders, Hatfields & McCoys follows the all-out war between the two families that lasted from 1863-1891. Co-starring Costner as William Anderson Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randolph McCoy, the patriarchs of each warring family, the entertaining series follows the never-ending feud and does a good job showcasing exactly how personally destructive and blinding hatred can be.

On the surface, The Sopranos is a show about organized crime in New Jersey and how different mafia organizations interact or go to war with each other. In actuality, The Sopranos explores so much more. Starring James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, the series follows the mafia leader as he navigates his complicated family life, goes to therapy, and does everything he can to keep his colleagues and enemies alike in line. Full of fantastic performances, sharp dialogue, and character-driven plot lines, The Sopranos is often labeled as the best television series of all time and it absolutely deserves every ounce of praise it gets.

Based on the writings of author Elmore Leonard, Justified follows U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) after he returns home to the Appalachian region of Kentucky and doles out his own type of justice. While the series has an overarching storyline that focuses on the relationship between Raylan and his long-time rival Boyd Crowder (Waylon Goggins), each season introduces a new primary antagonist that allows viewers to see how the charismatic sheriff thinks and reacts to different kinds of threats. Beautifully shot and full of tense shootouts, Justified deserves a lot of praise for the way it depicts the fictional Harlan County as a morally gray place that is full of people looking out for themselves.

Based on an idea originally conceived of by Bruce Lee, Warrior is an action-packed and character-driven series that everyone should check out.

Set during the days of the Tong Wars in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the show follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) after he arrives in the United States to hopefully find and rescue his sister. Despite his best intentions, Ah quickly gets wrapped up in organized crime and has to deal with an ever-changing city (and country) that is starting to become increasingly hostile towards Chinese immigrants.

Featuring some of the best combat I’ve ever seen in a television series, Warrior is incredibly dramatic and knows exactly how to draw viewers in. On top of the wonderful fight choreography and stellar performances from each member of the show’s ensemble, Warrior features incredibly rich costumes and beautifully designed sets that pull the audience even deeper into the show’s engrossing world.

Based on a novel by Philipp Meyer, The Son feels like a made-for-TV version of There Will Be Blood. Starring Pierce Bronson as Eli McCullough, a cattleman turned Texas oil baron with an extremely traumatic past, The Son is an entertaining series that showcases just how tumultuous and morally corrosive the western United States’ race for oil and expanded territory was. The show is primarily set in 1915 and follows Eli as he labors to maintain and grow his business empire in the hopes that he can pass it on to his children, but it relies on a lot of time jumps to illuminate how the character’s rough childhood impacts his perspective and insane work ethic. 

Any fans of the book who still haven’t given the series a chance will likely enjoy it because Meyer himself actually co-developed the series and even co-wrote a few episodes.

A sprawling crime epic, Gomorrah is set inside the dangerous world of organized crime in Naples. Created by Roberto Saviano, a reporter with extensive experience covering the ins and outs of organized crime in Italy, Gomorrah explores just how far organizations and individuals will go to grow and maintain their territorial power. As relationships and leadership hierarchies change, so does the city around it, and the show’s fantastic cast of characters- spearheaded by Ciro Di Marzio (Marco D’Amore) and Gennaro Savastano (Salvatore Esposito)- all have to look at themselves and their surroundings in different ways as situations intensify or their lives become increasingly dangerous. The incredibly entertaining and action-packed final season just wrapped up in December, so anyone looking for a new, binge-able show should definitely check out Gomorrah. 

There aren’t too many shows that are successful and popular enough to inspire a spin-off movie 13 years after its series finale, but Deadwood was so enthralling and beloved by fans that that’s exactly what happened. Created by David Milch, the western series is set in Deadwood, South Dakota as the area is being fully annexed into the Dakota Territories during the late 19th century. A thought-provoking series that touches on numerous aspects of what exactly makes up a society, Deadwood is an action-packed series that explores the thin line between order and chaos. Not only is this series compelling and wonderfully written, but it features fantastic performances from actors like Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane as key town leaders. 

Baltimore and Yellowstone may not appear to have a lot in common, but both places are ever-evolving areas with different forces trying to spread their influence. Created by David Simon, a former reporter with The Baltimore Sun, The Wire is a five-season long show that explores corruption amidst different city institutions. The show’s excellent first season starts and focuses on how the Baltimore police confront the illegal drug trade, but the series expands and focuses on other important topics like the city’s port system and the problem’s facing its educational system. The show has a fantastic ensemble and features complex characters who are constantly changing and recognizing their own failures, but the thing that links it to Yellowstone is its focus on how an environment shapes individuals and just how far people are willing to go to try and assert some power over their immediate surroundings. 

Mitch Hurwitz’s sharp-witted sitcom may not appear to have much in common with Yellowstone on the surface, but both series focus on dysfunctional families who are all working to preserve their fortune and legacy.

Originally airing from 2003-2006, Arrested Development follows the Bluth family as they avoid legal troubles and try to continue running their business after the family patriarch, George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor), is arrested for defrauding company investors. Featuring an all-star comedic ensemble of performers like Jason Bateman and Will Arnet, each episode is hilarious and demonstrates just how far each of the adult Bluth children are willing to go to secure their own comfortability. 

While the Netflix-produced seasons aren’t as funny as the original three, the series feels perfectly suited for streaming due to how Mitch Hurwitz and the other writers structure their jokes. Each episode of Arrested Development is so dense and includes so many compounding gags that often jokes don’t fully pay off for multiple episodes, so anyone who has somehow missed out on this show is still in for quite the viewing treat.

The Shield and Yellowstone may be set thousands of miles apart from each other, but both shows explore themes of corruption, karma, and how far someone will go to upkeep a semblance of social order. Created by Shawn Ryan, The Shield follows Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), a morally ambiguous leader of an experimental LAPD unit who is willing to do just about anything to clean up a portion of the city that is rife with gang crime and different forms of trafficking. Lasting for seven seasons, The Shield is compelling, shockingly violent, and unafraid to show just how complicated or corrosive police officers can be. 

The way Yellowstone depicts Montana doesn’t seem too far off from the political squabbling present in Westeros. Based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, Game of Thrones is a sprawling fantasy series that starts small and slowly gets larger and more intricate as each season progresses. While there are a number of supernatural elements throughout the show, the main thrust of the series is a number of noble families squabbling and competing to seize the Iron Throne and control Westeros. The setting and the time period may be very different, but trust me when I say the Duttons’ and the noble houses scattered across Westeros fighting to preserve their family’s land (and maybe even inherit a bit more) have A LOT in common. 

Another series with a complicated protagonist, Breaking Bad is an adrenaline-fueled ride all about one man’s race to the bottom. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who suddenly turns his life upside down and embarks on a life of crime after receiving a stage-three cancer diagnosis. As Walter, a.k.a. Heisenberg, starts cooking his own crystal meth and ingratiating himself within the local drug scene, the once bland individual slowly gives in to his own lust for power and starts disrupting the city’s pre-established order. Not only is Breaking Bad one of the best-written shows of the last two decades, but it also features incredible performances from every member of its ensemble and earned Aaron Paul three supporting actor Emmy awards for his amazing stint as the brash and tragic Jesse Pinkman. 

Before Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan was busy developing new series, he used to act in them as well. Sons of Anarchy is a show that explored the lives and relationships of people inside a close-knit motorcycle gang, and Sheridan played a pesky cop trying to ruin the fun for everyone’s favorite bikers.

Created by Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy is a character-driven series that explores how hard it is for Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller (Charlie Hunnam) to balance his responsibilities as a father and as a dedicated member of an outlaw motorcycle group known as the Sons of Anarchy. Featuring an incredible ensemble of performers like Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal, the series follows the organization as they operate shady businesses and try to out-maneuver rival biker gangs looking to cut in on their territory.

Based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Mysteries book series, Longmire follows Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) as he goes about solving different crimes in a fictional county in Wyoming. Ready to turn his life around after losing his wife a year earlier, Walt rededicates himself to the community and dives headfirst into public service by deciding to run for re-election as the county sheriff. Anyone who appreciates the slow-burning drama and serene setting of Yellowstone will definitely enjoy the various storytelling mechanics that push Longmire’s story forward.

If you’re watching Yellowstone for its rustic nature and beautiful cinematography, then trust me when I say you should check out America’s National Parks. Originally released by National Geographic in 2015, this eight-episode series explores the natural beauty and chaos of some of the United States’ most gorgeous national parks. Sites like The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone park itself have their own dedicated episodes that allow viewers to see just how dramatic and serene nature can be when left to its own devices.  

Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and John Dutton have a lot in common. Not only are they both no-nonsense leaders who control powerful assets, but they also have adult children who are prone to infighting and inflated egos. Created by Jesse Armstrong, Succession is an incredibly entertaining show with a dark comedic undertone that focuses on the backstabbing and plotting of various members of the Roy family, the owners of one of the biggest media empires in the world, as they deal with shifting political and business climates. The crew is currently filming the fourth season while the third season is being celebrated thanks to earning a whopping 25 Emmy nominations, the most of any series in 2022.