Shows Like 1883 That Fans Of Period Westerns Need To See

Created, written, and produced by Philipp Meyer — the author of the book on which the series is based — "The Son" features former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan as Eli McCullough, a powerful cattle baron with a complicated past. Set in two different eras of the Wild West — one in its prime, and the other as it was drawing to a close — the series' two seasons shift between 1849 and 1915. The two parallel stories jump back and forth between Eli's tumultuous youth and his mean-spirited adulthood.

In the mid-1800s we follow the younger version of McCullough and his harrowing experience being abducted by the Comanche and forced to live among them. The trauma of his early life shapes who Eli becomes, and gives context to the story that unfolds in 1915. As an older, bitter tycoon, McCullough's business begins to struggle and he explores the new booming oil business, creating problems between him and his two adult sons. But in a time when the country is in great upheaval — undergoing a shift from the Wild West to the modern era — the fight to save his way of life will not be an easy one.

If you like your Westerns with complicated cowboys and frontier stories, where even the heroes are monsters, "The Son" will satisfy.

Debuting on Netflix at the tail end of 2017, "Godless" was a seven-episode miniseries that begins with the fallout from a deadly attack by ruthless outlaws, inviting the audience into a dark, subdued period Western with some serious dramatic weight. The story is set La Belle, New Mexico, a mining town where an accident has killed most of the men, leaving women to pick up the pieces. But if you're thinking this is going to be a story about sexism in the Old West, you're mistaken. Instead, "Godless" offers up a story of revenge and the unspeakable horrors of humanity, in a story filled with terrifying villains and noble heroes. 

The story follows former outlaw Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell), who's on the run from Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), his vengeful former boss who had raised him like a son. Griffin has been menacing the region for years, and is himself hunted by Marshal John Cook ("Law and Order" star Sam Waterston). All three gunslingers eventually converge on La Belle, a town of dire need.

Praised for its luscious cinema-level visuals, the series is full of the kinds of sweeping panoramas one could only find in a story set on America's western frontier. It received stellar reviews for its dark story and stunning cinematography, and was voted among the best new TV shows of 2017 by Vanity Fair.

"Frontier" starred Jason Momoa as a half-Cree, half-Irish warrior and fur trader who goes up against the mighty Hudson Bay Company and their dominance of the industry. Set in the latter half of the 18th century in colonial-era Canada, the series puts the spotlight on a lesser chronicled period of North American history. Momoa comes out of the gate with teeth bared as Declan Harp, a fierce renegade who faces down bounty hunters, bandits, and big business, making "Frontier" not just a wild Western adventure, but a political and historical drama with a uniquely compelling story at its heart. As the Hudson Bay Company's stranglehold on the fur industry makes it near impossible for independent traders like Harp to find success, he's forced to fight back to defend his way of life.

Running for three seasons, the Netflix series never seemed to get its due, and is one of Momoa's less talked-about performances, just as it may be one of his best. Though it didn't receive as many seasons as "Hell on Wheels" or the widespread acclaim of "Deadwood," it's nevertheless one of the better Western dramas of the last decade and compares favorably to other high quality genre entries.

Landing on the TNT network in 2005, "Into The West" was a sweeping event miniseries from Steven Spielberg with an all-star ensemble cast. Told across six hour-long episodes, the sizable cast included Josh Brolin, Keri Russell, Alan Tudyk, Rachel Leigh Cook, Gary Busey, Garrett Wang, Sean Astin, and Lance Henriksen, among many others. The series follows two families across the 19th century, from the 1820s to near the dawning of the 20th: the Wheelers, led by young Jacob — a disillusioned farmer who seeks a new life in the West; and a Lakota tribe family whose elder, Growling Bear, fears for the future of his people. Down through the generations, each family faces new struggles as the country battles through periods of turmoil, war, and disease. 

Like many on this list, "Into The West" was an ambitious series that was vast in scope and deftly mixed historical figures with its fictional heroes and villains. The many real-life names included several often under-represented in fiction, like Native American leaders Red Crow and Sitting Bull, as well as the controversial American soldier George Armstrong Custer. The series as a whole was an epic drama that attempted to chronicle the sum total of the human experience through the many journeys that took place across the American West.

Step back in time more than 40 years and you'll find a beloved 1970s Western that in some ways could be the progenitor of "1883" and its backstory of "Yellowstone." Often ranked by fans among the best Westerns in TV history, "Little House On The Prairie" may not be the dark drama audiences may have come to expect from today's Westerns, but for its day it was one of the more somber shows on television. Despite its somewhat more light-hearted tone, it still told a number of serious stories, tackling controversial topics like sexual assault, drug addiction, and disease; retro reviews have noted that it's not quite as family-friendly as we might remember.

Based on the semi-biographical book series by Laura Ingalls-Wilder, the series centered on the Ingalls-Wilder family's farm life in Plum Creek in 1870s Minnesota as they dealt with the challenges of frontier life. Starring Melissa Gilbert as the author herself and "Bonanza" alum Michael Landon (whose daughter Jennifer currently stars as Teeter on "Yellowstone") as her father Charles, "Little House On The Prairie" was a mainstay of late '70s network TV, running for nine seasons between 1974 and 1983.

Fans of "1883" will recognize the Connolly brothers' journey to find a new life in "Dominion Creek," an Irish production that ran for two seasons and starred a cast that was mostly unknown to American audiences. The series saw the Connollys — Owen, Dara, and Sean — making the long trek from Montana to the Yukon to seek their fortune in another tale set during the Canadian Gold Rush. Once they arrive in the fictional mining town of Dominion Creek, however, getting rich proves much more of a challenge than they'd hoped it would be. To make their fortune they'll have to combat a cunning ex-Civil War colonel and ruthless business magnate, plus any number of con men, bandits, and fellow fortune-seekers. The brothers are put through the wringer in the unforgiving town that recalls the relentless nature of the title community in HBO's "Deadwood."

Never broadcast in the U.S., it may be a challenge to find "Dominion Creek" on a major streaming service. But it'll be worth the search, as it offers a unique perspective on the Western genre, having been produced outside of North America. You'll also have to bear with subtitles, as it was filmed in a mix of English and Gaelic, but its native language proves to be a key ingredient that only adds to its authenticity. Sparsely reviewed outside of Ireland, it was praised by the Irish Times as a "dangerous pleasure."

Nearly two decades after starring in "Lonesome Dove," Robert Duvall returned to the genre as an aging rancher named Prentice "Prent" Ritter in "Broken Trail." Set in turn-of-the-century Oregon, the series followed Ritter on a cross-country journey to sell his stock of horses to the British Army, who are operating out of Wyoming. Joining him is his nephew Tom (Thomas Haden-Church), who he picks up after stopping to inform him of his estranged mother's passing. Along the way, the pair find trouble when they rescue a group of Chinese women who had been destined for human slavery. This noble deed makes their difficult journey harder when it puts them in the sights of a barbaric group of slave-trading outlaws looking to see the women returned.

The two-part miniseries — comprised of two feature-length episodes — proved almost as successful as "Lonesome Dove," at least in terms of awards. "Broken Trail" ultimately netted 16 Emmy nominations and four wins, including Outstanding Miniseries, while Duvall grabbed his first and so far only Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie.