10 shows to watch if you love Yellowstone

If you’re missing the drama and the Western aesthetics of Yellowstone, there’ll be a bit of a wait until Season 5 Part 2. But don’t fret, as here are ten great shows like Yellowstone that you can watch right now.

Yellowstone has been a runaway horse of a success, with Season 5 Part 2 of the Montana ranch-based show set to air in November 2024 following the mid-season finale in early 2023. Alas, it’ll be the final season, with another series set to take over as the flagship show.

Granted, there aren’t many shows that match Yellowstone by way of operatic drama and cowboy sensibilities. What’s more, not many can boast the same number of spinoffs and sheer scope of the Dutton family tree. But some of the show’s greatest traits can be found elsewhere. Explosive plot twists, cunning villains, and a dysfunctional family at the heart of it all…these are some of the things that make television great.

So, if you’re in need of wrangling some similar series to satisfy your hunger for the Western aesthetic and family drama, allow us to lasso you a herd of shows to suit — here are ten TV shows to watch if you love Yellowstone:

Dallas (1978-1991)

Never seen Dallas? Now is the time to watch the original drama about feuding families, ranches, generational conflict, and present-day rivalries.

Both Dallas and Yellowstone have soap opera scale and complex character entanglements. Both are about family dynamics and business, although Dallas centers on oil barons rather than modern-day cowboys. You’ll find stetsons in both, though. Both shows also explore old-fashioned values. Those that say men should be men, women should be women, and everybody should know their place.

Bursting at the seams with machismo, machinations political, criminal, and personal, Dallas was characterized by cliffhangers. Yellowstone notably followed suit in its Season 3 finale.

Outer Range (2022-present)

If you’re looking for a show like Yellowstone with very specific elements (a ranching family, for one), then Outer Range is the perfect solution — with a sci-fi twist. When Royal Abbott (played by Josh Brolin) comes across a mysterious black void on his land, his family find themselves entangled in a supernatural conspiracy that threatens to undo them all. That, plus the appearance of a strange young woman, makes for one hell of a ranch-set thriller.

While Yellowstone runs on good ol’ fashioned thrills, Outer Range poses more questions than answers. But with family in disarray and a value placed on land, there’s much more in common between the two shows than you’d think.

Godless (2017)

If it’s the cowboy hats and sprawling vistas that tickle your fancy in Yellowstone, you simply have to check out Godless. Yellowstone might be an expansive franchise with several shows and seasons under it, but Godless is a neat one-and-done depiction of the Old West. The concept is simple: after a town loses all the men in a mining accident, the women are left to run things as an evil brute threatens to roll in. It’s savage, powerful, and a great throwback.

Produced by Netflix, the show very much flew under the radar. But with a killer cast and excellent villain (played by the ever-impressive Jeff Daniels), Godless is a modern Western masterpiece that even Taylor Sheridan would approve of. Essentially, if Beth Dutton is your girl, then you best check out this female-led drama.

1883 (2021)

Okay, it might seem like a cheat to include a Yellowstone spinoff on this list, but hear us out. 1883 is phenomenal. Some might say it’s even better than the flagship series, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Turning an eye to the Duttons of decades gone-by, 1883 focuses on the Duttons’ treacherous journey across America as part of an inexperienced convoy. They’re forced to confront the evils of man, the dangers of nature, and the threat of their own linage as they go.

1883 plays out like an extended Western epic. Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill lead this series, with Isabella May starring as Elsa Dutton, the show’s eyes and ears of the adventure. For Yellowstone fans, there’s nothing more thrilling than watching the Duttons discover the land that they would eventually call home. Knowing how they got there and what they lost gives the original series a whole new level of gravitas.

Justified (2010-2015)

For many, the Duttons’ criminal antics is what draws them to Yellowstone. If that’s the case, then Justified will be right up your street. Starring Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Justified is the neo-Western of your dreams. There’s nothing particularly unusual about it — it adheres to the classic lawman-makes-his-own-rules trope — but there’s something so satisfying about this particular brand of justice. (John Dutton would probably think so, too.)

After killing a hitman, Raylan Givens is reassigned to work in the Eastern District of Kentucky Marshal’s Office. His jurisdiction also happens to include his old hometown, a place that Givens had long-since abandoned. Slick, stylish, and pulpy, Justified matches all the best twists and turns of Yellowstone, and then some.

Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014)

Before he was the Yellowstone creator extraordinaire, Taylor Sheridan was also a budding actor. Appearing in shows such as CSI, Veronica Mars, and even Star Trek, he started making his mark in the small screen world before he decided to change it forever. Sons of Anarchy is where he spent the most time, appearing in a whopping 21 episodes as David Hale, the deputy chief of the Charming Police Department.

Violent, gritty, and a little bit grimy, Sons of Anarchy isn’t too different from Yellowstone, even if it is about a motorcycle gang. Sheridan’s exit from the series came when he rallied for (and was denied) higher pay. Still, it ended pretty alright for him, wouldn’t you say?

Deadwood (2004-2006)

If you love Yellowstone and you’re after a Western series cut through with something akin to kitchen-sink realism mixed with dialed-up drama, stop — Deadwood could be one of the shows you’re looking for.

Deadwood ran for three seasons and is set in 1870s South Dakota. The series follows the growth of the town of Deadwood, with a focus on the real-life characters of Al Swearengen, played by a potty-mouthed Ian McShane, and Seth Bullock, played by Timothy Olyphant. It is considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

Succession (2018-2023)

Succession is set on the East Coast, rather than the ‘Wild West’ Montana location of Yellowstone. But both shows are essentially about a patriarchal father and his emotionally floundering offspring attempting to defend their empire from external pressures. Central to both is the kids’ fight for approval and the theme of wealth and power and how they corrupt.

Succession follows the Roy family, who are fighting for control of the family business — a media and entertainment conglomerate — in the wake of family patriarch Logan Roy’s decline in health.

Virgin River (2019-present)

On the face of it, if you’ve never watched Virgin River you might think it has little in common with Yellowstone. The premise sets up a potentially fluffy romantic drama, with nurse practitioner Mel Monroe upping sticks from Los Angeles to seek a new start in a remote California town.

However, as the series progresses, secrets begin to emerge among the town’s residents and newcomers. Just like Yellowstone, it’s a show about complex relationships, shady and tragic pasts, and the cauldron of isolated and/or rural living.

The Son (2017-2019)

Starring Pierce Brosnan, The Son ran for two seasons on AMC between 2017 and 2019. Set in Texas across two timelines — the 1840s and early 1900s — parallels with Yellowstone (and its spin-offs), which flashes back to the past, are clear.

Brosnan’s character in The Son, Eli McCulloch, was taken as a young teen by Comanches and raised as an adopted son. In the present day of 1915, McCulloch is a ruthless cattle baron turned oil tycoon. The Son follows McCulloch battling to preserve his business interests as he prepares to pass his empire on to his children. Like Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in Yellowstone, he has complicated relationships with his kids.

Yellowstone returns with Season 5 Part 2 in November 2024. In the meantime, check out our other Yellowstone hubs below:

Why Kevin Costner’s leaving Yellowstone | Is Yellowstone on tonight? | 6666 Yellowstone | 1923 cast | 1923 Season 2 | Yellowstone cast | Will Kevin Costner be in S5P2? | Does Tate die in Yellowstone? | Taylor Sheridan shows & movies | Does Beth die in Yellowstone? | Matthew McConaughey’s Yellowstone series | Yellowstone CBS changes explained | Yellowstone spinoffs timeline explained | Does Monica die in Yellowstone? | Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves a spinoff? | Are Yellowstone stars in Lawmen: Bass Reeves? | Yellowstone finale release date | When Yellowstone returns to CBS | 1883 Season 2