The Neo-Western TV Series That Everyone Gave Up On Too Soon

"Yellowstone" spawned its own television franchise with numerous spinoffs of varying quality. But if you ever feel the need to get out of the "Yellowstone" universe and explore a different kind of neo-Western, then you need to go back to a show that didn't get nearly enough love when it was first on the air — "Joe Pickett."

Of course, no one would blame you for having never heard of the critically acclaimed series. The first season aired on Spectrum Originals, a video-on-demand service owned by Charter Communications that came free of charge to all Spectrum TV cable subscribers. It was home to "L.A.'s Finest," a spinoff of the "Bad Boys" films that NBC originally passed on, as well as a revival season of the '90s sitcom "Mad About You." It wasn't exactly a notable place people turned to for entertainment, but luckily, Season 2 of "Joe Pickett" wound up on Paramount+ after Spectrum Originals inevitably went under. 

So what is "Joe Pickett" about? It follows the titular Joe (Michael Dorman), who becomes the new game warden overseeing the area around Yellowstone National Park, but don't expect John Dutton (Kevin Costner) from "Yellowstone" to swing by for a cameo. Shortly thereafter, Joe discovers a dead body on his property and uncovers a conspiracy all linked to a supposedly extinct animal that could upend plans to build a pipeline. A murder mystery set in rural America makes for enticing TV, but it was cancelled after just two seasons, presumably because, again, no one really knew about it. 

Season 1 of "Joe Pickett" did well on Spectrum Originals. It actually became the most-watched series on the platform with over 1 million unique households tuning in. There's no publicly available data on how well it did on Paramount+, but for context, "Dutton Ranch" recently had the biggest launch in the streamer's history with the first two episodes receiving 12.9 million views in the first week of release. A measly 1 million views would be small potatoes if "Joe Pickett" didn't increase its viewership, but even though a lot of fans ignored it, critics knew there was something special here. 

"Joe Pickett" is the rare show to have garnered a 100% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Joel Keller of Decider praised many aspects of the series, including one component that may not be immediately recognizable: "While the show dives deep into Pickett's childhood and violent history, and has a pretty heavy murder at the center of the first season, it's also got an interesting sense of humor." Dustin Rowles of Pajiba noted, "It's engrossing, Dorman (and [Julianna] Guill) are compelling, and the series sometimes feels weirdly familiar, like 'Wynonna Earp' minus the sci-fi."

Westerns are having a real resurgence right now, at least on the small screen. The "Yellowstone" universe is still going strong, and even Netflix is getting in on the action with its revival of "Little House on the Prairie." "Joe Pickett" simply got lost in the shuffle, even though we think it's one of several TV shows even better than the aforementioned "Dutton Ranch." It just didn't make as much of a splash as those other shows, but its two seasons are still on Paramount+ waiting for you.