Yellowstone (Paramount Network – 2018-Present)
Paramount’s Yellowstone is King Lear, The Godfather, and Game of Thrones all rolled into one. And it’s an incredible example of the contemporary Western.
Taylor Sheridan and his fellow Sons of Anarchy alum, John Linson, give us the story of the horrifyingly dysfunctional Dutton family and their billion-dollar cattle ranch beset by enemies of all stripes and on all sides. Law enforcement can’t match their corruption no matter how hard they try, real estate rivals have to do a gut check to see if they have what it takes to win The West, and the savvy leader of the nearby native reservation uses politics as a coup stick.
Even in the midst of all of this, patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) has more to deal with under his own roof. His adult children are as self-destructive as they are capable of conspiracy, death, and destruction while his cattle struggle to provide him with profit and his ranch hands struggle with the law, local, state, federal… and, most importantly, his.
-Matt Widdis
