Every Taylor Sheridan TV Show, Ranked From Worst To Best

Taylor Sheridan has come a long way since helping his friends direct low-budget horror movies like 2011’s “Vile,” and finding success with films like “Hell or High Water,” “Sicario,” and “Wind River,” all of which earned heaps of critical acclaim and put the Hollywood cowboy on the map. These days, however, Sheridan is mainly focused on producing content for the small screen, and he’s developed a habit of delivering hit shows without taking any breaks in between.

From the “Yellowstone” franchise to “Tulsa King,” Sheridan’s television series are fascinated with the concept of organized crime and how it stretches everywhere from remote ranches in Montana to big cities in Oklahoma. As of this writing, he’s created eight series in total, all of which boast his distinct style that combines grit, humor, and violence while exploring social themes. Sheridan shows no signs of slowing down either, and that’s great news for fans of his work.

For the purposes of this exercise, we are only going to focus on the shows Sheridan is listed as the creator of, so don’t expect to see “Lawman: Bass Reeves” make the cut, as he only served as a producer on that one. With that in mind, let’s find out where Sheridan’s shows are ranked from worst to best.

Taylor Sheridan is primarily known for making gritty dramas about fictional cowboys, but he hasn’t forgotten about the real-life men and women who live the lifestyle everyday. “The Last Cowboy” is a documentary and reality competition series that takes place in the realm of horse reining, featuring participants who wouldn’t seem out of place on the “Yellowstone” ranch.

The series pits contestants against each other as they compete for a big-money prize, while also digging into their everyday lives and providing insights into how difficult it is to master the art of training horses — a subject that Sheridan is passionate about given his personal fondness for stallions. “The Last Cowboy” also highlights the participants’ athletic capabilities, as reining horses isn’t an easy job.

If you’ve ever watched “Yellowstone” and wished that it focused more on horse training than organized crime, “The Last Cowboy” is the series for you. However, Sheridan is a household name thanks to his violent soap operas and crime dramas, and those are where his talents truly shine.

Despite starring Marvel hotshot Jeremy Renner in the leading role, “Mayor of Kingstown” is one of Taylor Sheridan’s most overlooked projects — probably due to the fact he makes a new show every three days. The crime drama, which Sheridan co-created with Hugh Dillon, is also one of the showrunner’s most divisive efforts, boasting Rotten Tomatoes scores of 53% and 81% among critics and audience members, respectively, at the time of this writing. 

“Mayor of Kingston” sees Renner’s peace broker, Mike McClusky, drive around in a Lincoln and try to keep things civil between the cops, criminals, and influential players who populate the titular city. Of course, that isn’t always possible, especially when incarceration is the town’s most profitable business and people are out for themselves.

Fans of gritty crime dramas in the vein of “The Wire” might appreciate “Mayor of Kingstown” due to its exploration of systematic injustice. It’s a series about how inequality breeds crime, while also shedding light on how society’s most corrupt individuals sit in positions of power. These elements, coupled with the show’s brutality, make for an engrossing crime saga that deserves more appreciation, even though it’s far from Sheridan’s best work.

Some Taylor Sheridan fans might argue that “1883” deserves to be near the top of this list, and that it’s by far the best series in the “Yellowstone” franchise. “1883” is gritty, somber, emotionally taxing, and packs some punches that stay with you. Unfortunately, it’s also quite uneventful and bland, though some viewers will vehemently disagree with that sentiment, as fans often praise the show’s human drama and slow-burn approach to storytelling.

Taking place in the titular year, “1883” chronicles the original Dutton family members as they travel the frontier with a group of settlers to find a new place to call home. It boasts all of the ingredients for an exciting Wild West adventure, but the “Yellowstone” prequel series is more concerned with boring romantic subplots than providing a riveting adventure. Meanwhile, the exciting moments — like the premiere’s opening gun fight and episode 7’s tornado sequence — are too few and far between.

“1883” is a tricky one to rank as some viewers will appreciate the romance and interpersonal drama over the gunfights and natural disasters; however, folks who prefer Sheridan’s pulpier work might find it dull. Still, the performances are incredibly strong across the board, and the shows deserves credit for presenting an unglamorous version of the Old West. This is a world where people die of snake bites while doing the toilet outside, and that’s grim.

Given that Taylor Sheridan has made so many Westerns and crime shows, it’s easy to forget that he’s also known for war dramas. “Sicario,” which he penned, is a morally grey shocker that chronicles the American authorities ongoing battle with the cartel amid the War on Drugs, and it’s arguably his most harrowing work to date. The creator channels some of that flavor in “Lioness,” even though it’s more of a straight-laced spy thriller about CIA operatives.

“Lioness” stars Zoe Saldana as Joe, an agent who’s tasked with recruiting women to go undercover in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. Their missions range from uncovering kidnapping plots to dealing with external threats who want to harm America, which requires a mixture of sneaky decorum and all-guns-blazing bravado. The series doesn’t rewrite the rules of espionage shows by any means, but it’s effectively suspenseful and very entertaining. There’s also an ample amount of drama in Joe’s personal life due to her family, adding some domestic disarray to complement the high-octane carnage.

Some critics have accused “Lioness” of being jingoistic propaganda, but like most Sheridan-helmed stories, it’s politically muddled. For example, season 1 features a gruesome scene where the CIA tortures one of its own operatives to see if she’ll break, which doesn’t paint U.S. intelligence officers in the most flattering light. The series lacks the moral complexity of “Sicario,” but it isn’t ideologically one-sided either.

“Yellowstone” has lost its way for several reasons, but it could have been Taylor Sheridan’s best work if the neo-Western drama ended after season 2. The first two installments boast high-stakes, nuanced, entertaining, and intense storylines that kept viewers on their edge of their seats. Kevin Costner was still fully dedicated to the project back then as well, and Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) had a meaningful role. The villains were also better, the missions were more dramatic, and the Duttons’ livelihood actually felt threatened. Everything since then has been … meh.

Despite its flaws, however, “Yellowstone” is still enjoyable for what it is — a trainwreck soap opera that covers up its canyon-sized plot holes with lush scenery, pointless deaths, and philosophical ponderings about cowboy life that sound good when spoken in a southern drawl. Plus, just when you think “Yellowstone” is beyond saving, it occasionally hits you with moments of sheer brilliance like season 5’s “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow, and You” episode, which gives one character a beautifully moving send-off. 

To his credit, Sheridan also imagined a great group of characters and cast charismatic performers in the roles, which helps “Yellowstone” coast by as a fun hangout show when it has nothing interesting to say. This series is a mess, but it’s an entertaining one and that goes a long way for this writer.

It’s still too early to judge “Landman” in the grand scheme of things, but the Billy Bob Thornton-starring series is off to a great start. Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace’s drama, which is loosely based on the latter’s “Boomtown” podcast, also borrows some tactics from “Yellowstone’s” playbook, as it’s yet another modern-day tale about a world that’s dangerously close to becoming like the Old West. That said, “Landman” is more grounded than Sheridan’s hit neo-Western, but it contains all of the hallmarks that make his cowboy-loving crime shows fun.

“Landman” takes place in the world of west Texas’ oil industry and follows Thornton’s divorced, foul-mouthed fixer, Tommy Norris, as he tries to clean up messes on behalf of the oil company he works for. However, that’s nothing compared to the troubles he faces at home, as his ex-wife likes to tease him and his teenage daughter is starting to show an interest in boys, much to her dad’s dismay.

Like “Yellowstone,” the storylines feature criminals, corrupt bureaucrats, politicians, and capitalists who meddle in Norris’ best interests. People get shot, while others die on the job. Norris doesn’t care who he offends either, so he’d probably get along well with the Duttons. Sheridan knows his lane, and he’s good at it, but “Landman” sees the prolific creator at the top of this game, and Thornton is at his charismatic and no-nonsense best.

“1883” is too lovey-dovey and bleak for some viewers. “Yellowstone,” meanwhile, is too soap opera-esque and messy for other taste buds. The Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford-fronted adventure, “1923,” strikes a happy balance between prestigious human drama and pulpy actioner, while also being the most socially conscious Dutton saga in the entire “Yellowstone” television franchise.

The “Yellowstone” universe touches on the displacement of Native Americans in the United States, but “1923” is the only one that accurately portrays the extent of their persecution throughout history in a meaningful way. “1923’s” chronicles the abuse Native Americans faced in boarding schools during this period in time, and while it’s difficult to watch, it’s important to highlight and shows that this franchise might actually be sincere in its desire to spotlight injustices sometimes. 

That said, “1923” isn’t entirely grim. There’s a safari romance that takes some of the action to Africa, which welcomely expands the setting beyond Montana. Of course, with this being a “Yellowstone” spin-off, there are plenty of angry cowboys who want the Duttons’ ranch, which allows Mirren and Ford’s characters to flex their action muscles. As it stands, “1923” hasn’t been around long enough for Taylor Sheridan to mess it up like he did to “Yellowstone” season 5, and it’s a reminder that he’s a great storyteller when he’s focused.

“Tulsa King” boasts the distinction of being Sylvester Stallone’s first leading role in a small-screen drama, and it showcases the veteran performer at his toughest and funniest. The comedy-flavored crime caper sees him play Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a disgraced New York mafioso who gets released from prison and sent to Oklahoma to take over the titular city. His colleagues say it’s an opportunity for him to become a ruler in unclaimed territory, but he views it as a banishment.

This is Taylor Sheridan’s most entertaining and unabashedly goofy series to date, and provides some ridiculously wonderful moments. From Manfredi racketeering a legal cannabis dispensary to launching schemes involving balloons full of nitrous oxide, “Tulsa King” isn’t your typical mob story, and that’s why it’s so awesome.

“Tulsa King” also scores points for its sly (pun intended) references to “Goodfellas.” The opening scene sees Stallone’s character recall a story about telling his old man that he wanted to be a gangster when he grew up, echoing Henry Hill’s (Ray Liotta) introductory monologue in Martin Scorsese’s mob classic. However, “Goodfellas” is about one criminal’s rise and fall, whereas Sheridan’s show follows a mobster who’s already hit rock bottom and wants to make an impact again. It represents the idea that we should never give up on our dreams, even when people believe we’re past our primes.