Taylor Sheridan’s Marshals is a great neo-Western series, but there are seven other neo-Westerns that blow it out of the water. The Yellowstone spinoff series Marshals is one of the biggest success stories the neo-Western genre has ever seen. Marshals season 2 is now the most-watched show on cable, it’s steadily upping the stakes and tension of Kayce Dutton’s story, and it’s going bigger and better than ever before.
Even with the almost unprecedented success Marshals has enjoyed, the show has a few shortcomings. Most noticeably, Marshals has the worst Rotten Tomatoes score of any Taylor Sheridan show. Critics and some viewers have made it fairly clear that Marshals is not the best television show ever made. Marshals does, however, have its fair share of advantages, from its excellent cast to its connections to Yellowstone.
Still, Marshals isn’t a great representation of all that the neo-Western genre has to offer. Some of the best Western shows of the past decade have been set in the modern day, and they’ve far surpassed Marshals in terms of quality. If you’ve been watching Marshals and want something that scratches that same itch but is a bit more enjoyable to watch, these seven shows are certainly worth checking out.
Yellowstone
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It should be no surprise that Marshals‘ parent show, Yellowstone, is a better neo-Western. The most famous neo-Western ever made, Yellowstone follows the Dutton family as they protect their titular Montana ranch from those who wish to take it. The show delves into family drama, action, politics, and every other part of life in the West. Bolstered by Taylor Sheridan’s fantastic writing and dialog, Yellowstone is easily one of the best neo-Western shows out there.
Marshals‘ ties to Yellowstone certainly helped it become a breakout hit, but they also expose why the original is so much better than the spinoff. Yellowstone is gritty, complicated, and filled with morally gray characters doing heinous things in service of protecting their ranch. Marshals simply doesn’t have as much bite, and it’s “case of the week” format keeps it from telling an overarching story as big and bold as Yellowstone‘s central plot.
Dark Winds
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Dark Winds, created by George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford, is arguably the greatest neo-Western of the 2020s, and it easily surpasses Marshals. Dark Winds follows three members of the Navajo Tribal Police — Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito — as they solve crimes that border on supernatural. Though the show takes place in the 1970s, it’s modern enough in both technology and themes to be considered a neo-Western.
Like Marshals, Dark Winds is also a police procedural. Dark Winds, however, handles its mysteries a lot better. Each season presents a new case with ties to Navajo folklore, and each of those cases is dripping with thematic weight, suspenseful twists, and brilliant pacing. On top of that, Dark Winds has one of the most talented casts on television in general. Dark Winds and Marshals have a lot in common, but the former executes on those similarities much more efficiently than the latter.
Longmire
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Another Western police procedural, Longmire, also has Marshals beat. Longmire follows Sheriff Walt Longmire of Abseroka County, Wyoming, as he solves crime using common sense and country knowledge instead of expensive crime scene analysis. The show mainly follows a “case of the week” format, but Walt also has to contend with overarching problems from land developers, the nearby Cheyenne reservation and its casino, and solve the murder of his wife.
Though it doesn’t quite rise to the level of Dark Winds, Longmire is a close second in terms of neo-Western police procedurals. Walt and his deputies are interesting and complex characters, and the mysteries they’re confronted with are real head-scratchers that invite the audience to play along. It’s a more traditional mystery show than Marshals, but that’s actually an advantage for Longmire.
Preacher
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Though supernatural horror and neo-Westerns don’t typically mix well, Preacher proves that blend can be executed masterfully. Preacher follows Jesse Custer, a priest, who teams up with his murderous ex-girlfriend and a vampire to literally battle the forces of evil with guns and bullets. Part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, part Ash vs Evil Dead, Preacher is nothing if not distinct.
Preacher couldn’t be more different from Marshals, which is one of the reasons it’s better. Marshals isn’t a terribly original show. Not only is it a spinoff of Yellowstone, but other shows have focused on U.S. marshals, tense family dynamics, and grieving widowers. There is no other show that’s quite like Preacher. It’s unapologetically weird and leans fully into its oddities. The result is a series that takes big risks that often pay off and feel completely unique. Marshals often feels like it has no identity, and that’s never the case for Preacher.
Justified
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Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins’ Justified is arguably the greatest neo-Western show ever made. Justified follows Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshal, and Boyd Crowder, a career criminal. As Raylan dismantles criminal enterprises throughout Kentucky, Boyd serves as his nemesis and occasional reluctant ally. Justified is basically the protoytpical neo-Western: it has action, a Southern setting, themes about the fight between good and evil, and one of the best hero/villain dynamics in TV history.
Justified also has quite a bit of overlap with Marshals, given their shared focus on U.S. marshals. That overlap also makes it abundantly clear that Justified is the better show. Its episodic and season-long mysteries and criminal conspiracies are more complex and intriguing, its characters are more colorful and nuanced, and its writing is top-notch. This isn’t really a slight against Marshals; Justified is just one of the best neo-Westerns out there.
Outer Range
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Westerns and science fiction mix quite well, as evidenced by space Westerns like The Mandalorian and Firefly. Outer Range, however, chose to lean further into neo-Western elements than sci-fi ones, and it paid off in dividends. Outer Range is a mystery box show that sees Royal Abbott struggling to keep his Wyoming ranch afloat when a mysterious black void appears on the property, though that’s just the start of his problems.
Outer Range is a bit difficult to talk about, as unraveling the mystery of the void is much of its fun. Without delving into spoilers, however, it’s safe to say that Outer Range is one of the most inventive, surprising, and mysterious neo-Western shows on this list. Unfortunately, it was canceled after just two seasons. The seasons it did get to premiere, however, feature fantastic acting, casting, and a twisty plot that can keep anyone on the edge of their seat.
Wynonna Earp
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Another blend of Western and sci-fi elements comes from Wynonna Earp, and it once again proves that blend can be exceptional if done right. Wynonna Earp follows the titular Wynonna, a direct descendant of Wyatt Earp, the legendary real-life lawman who was present at the Shootout at the O.K. Corral. Wynonna inherits Wyatt’s mythical revolvers and a mission to return the ghostly spirits of Old West outlaws to Hell.
Wynonna Earp may not be a traditional neo-Western, but it more than makes up for that by providing everything you could want out of one. Wynonna is a great protagonist with a lot of character, the supernatural story lends itself perfectly to classic neo-Western themes surrounding the past and generational trauma, and it’s packed to the gills with great action scenes. Marshals may be getting its flowers now, but Wynonna Earp is still worth revisiting.
Marshals
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