5 Best Sam Elliott TV Shows, Ranked

Sam Elliott is one of Hollywood's major constants. Year after year, decade after decade, he lends his inimitable presence to everything from major feature films to small scale arthouse projects — and of course Westerns, a genre that his physical presence seems custom designed for.

Though the best Sam Elliott Westerns (not to mention the best Elliott movies that are not Westerns) rank among his most well-known body of work, he has also made a considerable mark in the world of television. He has a fairly robust back catalog of TV shows spanning across a number of genres. Elliott has displayed impressive versatility in his choice of roles, and when looking at his finest TV work, it's notable how different the shows in question are from each other. To underline how Sam Elliott can seemingly turn up just about anywhere, let's take a look at his five greatest TV shows, ranked by their Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sam Elliott is not the central character of Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace's neo-Western "Landman," which boasts an 80% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but plays an important role nonetheless. It focuses on Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), a high-ranking executive and "landman" — an all-around negotiator and problem solver — for the M-Tex oil company. The world of West Texas oil fields is a tough one, and Tommy has a personality to match. However, he's not entirely heartless, and he has plenty of issues of his own. Among the bigger ones is his relationship with his father, T.L. Norris (Elliott).

T.L. is a major character in the sophomore season of "Landman," and Elliott's scenes with Thornton are truly something to behold. This is because the two men know each other extremely well in their personal lives, and that real-life chemistry reflects in their on-screen interactions. Still, their pre-existing relationship wasn't entirely without issues given their characters' contentious relationship, making "Landman" Season 2 especially challenging for Thornton.

"Some of the hardest stuff I had to do was when I had to be abrupt to, or even mean with, Sam Elliott," Thornton told Variety. "Sam and I are old, old friends. He's been like a pop to me since I've known him in the '80s. He's been a mentor, a friend, and everything. Sometimes, knowing the other human, it's not as easy to just go for it, but you have to. You have to go 100%."

Peacock's "MacGruber" is based on the "Saturday Night Live" sketch that was previously adapted into 2010 movie of the same name. The 2021 series addresses the lengthy time skip, hilariously slapping the main character with a realistic consequence for his over-the-top way defeat of the villainous Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer) in the film: a lengthy prison sentence.  

"MacGruber" the show continues the film's story of the titular, MacGyver-esque special operative (Will Forte), who continues to delight with his familiar off-beat comedic stylings. Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Maya Rudolph also reprise their roles as Vicki St. Elmo, Dixon Piper, and Casey.

The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, Billy Zane — and, of course, Sam Elliott, who plays MacGruber's dad, Perry. This isn't Elliott's only foray into deadpan absurdity on this list, but his "MacGruber" turn does confirm his capability in the world of comedy. If you need further proof that the show is worth checking out, its 85% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating should be convincing enough.

The "Yellowstone" prequel "1883" is a bit of a critical darling, with a cool 89% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. The miniseries is about John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) great-grandparents James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret (Faith Hill) and their children, the story's narrator Elsa (Isabel May) and young John Dutton Sr. (Audie Rick). 

Outside the Duttons, however, the true centerpiece of the story is the wagon train's leader, Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott). A Pinkerton man and a Union veteran from the Civil War, Brennan is a rough, melancholic, and haunted figure who is tasked with keeping the expedition's people both in check and safe — a dual task not easy for a man already dealing with plenty of demons. However, helped by fellow Pinkerton agent Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and James, Brennan soldiers on.

An enticing miniseries with plenty of grim developments, "1883" is a must-watch for fans of Taylor Sheridan's work and Westerns alike. The show is as relentless as the American Frontier itself, and isn't afraid to put either Brennan or members of the Dutton family through some absolutely horrific events. More importantly, though, "1883" was unlike any project Elliott had worked on, proving he can stand front and center of a show just as easily as he can play a supporting role.

One of the most rewatchable sitcoms in history, "Parks and Recreation" has a 93% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its depiction of small town bureaucracy through a mockumentary lens is a winning recipe — especially since the show's ensemble cast is wall-to-wall amazing. One of its many genius inventions is the nearby town of Eagleton, which is similar to the central Pawnee, Indiana, except ever-so-frustratingly better in every way.

The head of the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee is famously Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), a meat-eating, stern libertarian who loves manly things and utterly dislikes bureaucracy, largely using his position to disrupt and ignore the machinations of his department while pursuing his own interests. His Eagleton counterpart, Ron Dunn (Sam Elliott), is a fun recurring character who seems almost identical to Swanson at first, as befits a character portrayed by Elliott. 

In a casting stunt for the ages, however, Dunn turns out to be a laid-back, all-loving vegan hippie type, whom Swanson goes on to absolutely loathe. Elliott plays hilariously against type, and clearly has a blast with every moment of his screen time. It's not easy to stand out among a cast as stacked as the talent of "Parks and Recreation," but Elliott does so with gusto, even with his limited screen time.

With its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 97%, legendary Western-tinted crime drama "Justified" takes a comfortable win as the most critically-appreciated Sam Elliott show. Again, though, Elliott isn't in the mix as a central character, but rather plays an important supporting role. 

Here, he's a prominent Season 6 character called Avery Markham, a gangster and weed kingpin who has a history with Katherine Hale (Mary Steenburgen). With a slick haircut and a fondness for bolo ties and even slicker suits, Elliott plays Markham without his signature mustache, looking very different from his usual self.

Markham gives Elliott an opportunity to play a chilling villain — a true challenge in a show like "Justified," which is famously filled to the brim with horrible people. Yet, Elliott delivers a memorable character whose influence looms over the entirety of Season 6, and his ultimate showdown with Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) is one to remember.