5 Western Shows With No Bad Episodes

The TV Western ruled the small screen landscape in the 1950s and 1960s, with viewers getting a glut of cowpokes and saddle burrs during those decades. This era produced some absolute classics of the genre, but even the most beloved Western series went through some dips in quality now and again. "Gunsmoke" is one of the longest-lived television shows of all time, and even that produced some real stinkers during its run. 

There are, however, some TV Westerns that managed to go from start to finish without putting out a single bad episode, as this list will prove: The following Westerns succeeded in churning out quality Wild West thrills without a single dud in the bunch. From Clint Eastwood classics to modern shows that helped keep the genre alive, here are five perfectly smooth rides that all Western fans need to check out.

"Rawhide" is the classic Western series that made Clint Eastwood want to start directing. The future star played rugged ramrod Rowdy Yates on the show, his breakthrough role and the one that made him a household name. Plenty of Western fans will know "Rawhide" for its position in pop culture history, but they may not be aware that it has an average episode rating of 7.9 on IMDb. There's not a bad episode among them, with the highest-rated of the lot being Season 7's "The Lost Herd," which boasts an impressive score of 8.8.

The series centers on the lives of cattle drovers working in the 1860s. As these cowherds make their living driving up and down the Chisolm Trail, adventure finds them and so does love, friendship, and esteem. While the show could sometimes be fanciful and deal with supernatural plotlines like ghosts running amok, it also tackled very serious topics, like drug addiction and racism. This mixed bag of action, drama, and romance yielded plenty of viewers and a solid eight-season run that kept viewers coming back for more.

Modern Westerns might be a dime a dozen these days, but "Dark Winds" has put a whole new spin on the genre. Based on the Leaphorn & Chee set of mystery novels written by Tony Hillerman, the AMC show is headed into its 5th season as of this writing and there hasn't been a bad episode in the bunch: On IMDb, not a single entry has dipped below a 6.0.

"Dark Winds" is centered around lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and undercover FBI agent and Joe's deputy Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), three tribal police officers whose beat is Navajo County. The trio team up to work out a variety of cases, some of them supernatural, some not. All the while, the tension between Joe and Jim continues to build, leading the two men to a boiling point and a better understanding and partnership.

If you like your Westerns on the funny side, then "Maverick" will be a pure delight. The show made James Garner a household name and it brought something fresh to the sagebrush-clogged landscape of saddlesore easy riders looking for a new start. The show initially focused on Bret (Garner) and Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly), two brothers. They are cardsharps and gamblers who are on the run from the law and their pasts. Bret often finds himself in comedic situations, while Bart usually finds himself in a more serious place.

Several people pop in and out of their lives as they traverse the world, winning pots of cash and losing it to pretty ladies, fate, and other travails. With an average episode rating of 8.0 on IMDb, it's bound to be a perfect four-season ride, even with multiple main cast changes — when Garner exited the show over a legal dispute with ABC, future Bond star Roger Moore took the reins as cousin Beau Maverick, and viewers grew to love him. When you're done watching the show, you should check out the underrated big screen version of "Maverick" with Jodie Foster.

Finally we have the underrated Netflix miniseries "Godless," a fast-paced, brutal mini-series and a must-watch for fans of the Western genre. It takes a look at life in a literal no-man's land and what happens when a guy stumbles upon it. With an average episode rating of 8.2 on IMDb, there's a reason why it's been ranked as one of the best Western miniseries of all time.

Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell) is an outlaw on the run who is determined to turn over a new leaf. Injured, Goode begs for help from Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), a widow whose La Belle, New Mexico ranch is laden with ladyfolk. That gender make-up reflects the status of La Belle at large; most of the men in town died in a mining accident.

There are some exceptions, such as Bill McNue (Scoot McNairy), who happens to be on the trail of Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), Roy's evil ex-mentor. Also looking for Frank is Marshal John Cook (Sam Waterston) from Santa Fe. While Alice and Roy develop an unlikely truce, the menace of Frank looms over them all, portending an ugly showdown between the townsfolk and Frank's gang.

Six seasons long and filled with suspense, tension, and smartly-written stories, "Longmire" is a satisfying neo-Western procedural that leaves the viewer dying for more. Based on the Walt Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson, the show has a grounded sense of realism while also reflecting on the divide between the Indigenous American world and the universe outside of the rez' borderline. There's a reason why Netflix scooped it up after A&E cancelled it. It's now on Paramount+, so Western lovers can stream every single season of "Longmire" to their heart's content and find out why the show has an average episode rating of 8.3 on IMDb.

Sheriff Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) works the beat in Absaroka County, Wyoming. Walt often leans on his best friend, Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips), to help smooth matters between the force and the local Cheyenne tribe so that Walt can better investigate cases. Together, they try to right wrongs and save lives on the reservation and outside of it. Fans of classic Westerns are bound to fall in love with "Longmire," which the Los Angeles Times called "an old-fashioned sort of show, working unapologetically toward wisdom rather than cleverness."