Forget Yellowstone, Netflix's 7-Part Western Series Is Perfect From Start To Finish

Published Sep 21, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. Yellowstone may be the most popular modern Western show of the last 20 years, but it's a seven-episode Netflix series that is the true greatest Western series of the streaming age. Like horror, the Western is a genre that never seems to go out of style. It's a bit ironic considering how stuck in the past the genre is. Whether they're on film or on TV, Westerns hold a powerful place in the viewing imagination. The themes of adventure, expansion, freedom, loneliness, danger, self-deception, and much more are all thick in the Western genre. It contains multitudes, and from it can spring plenty of ideas for shows and miniseries. Netflix's Godless is one of the best examples we have of the genre, at least since streaming became a focal point of the viewing experience. The seven-episode miniseries premiered on November 22, 2017, in its entirety, created, written, and directed by Scott Frank. The series is set in 1884 in the Old West, where a young outlaw named Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell) has absconded from his criminal gang, tired of their criminality and violence. Now in danger himself, Roy ends up in La Belle, New Mexico, a town populated almost entirely by women after most of the men died in a mining accident. As mining interests try to take advantage of the situation in La Belle, the women there also have to contend with the imminent arrival of Roy's old gang, led by Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels), who are likely to shoot up everyone in the town in order to retrieve Roy and punish him for his actions. Godless Is One Of The Best Western TV Shows Of The Streaming Era Godless is one of the best Western TV shows of the last 10 to 20 years, and one of the best miniseries of the streaming era. Creator Scott Frank went on to create The Queen's Gambit and Department Q, and the sure hand of those miniseries is seen here. Frank's knack for thrilling, sad writing that he showed in Logan and Minority Report is also obvious in Godless. The series ended up with 12 Emmy nominations, winning in three categories. It's a gorgeous series, filled with beautiful sequences of New Mexico, and an impeccably constructed town that feels as real as anything. The short time span of the story also keeps things moving, adding momentum to the proceedings. The ensemble cast helps to deliver Frank's words, with O'Connell and Daniels giving the expected charming performances. However, Michell Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Merritt Wever, and Tantoo Cardinal also do a wonderful job, ramping up the stakes and making the exhaustion palpable. Godless Flips Western Tropes On Their Head via MovieStillsDB Women in Westerns is not a new thing. However, few Western shows or movies are primarily filled with female characters and actors. Godless turns a conceit of Westerns on its head by making the damsel in distress a man, and his rescuers are not just one woman but a whole town of women. It's the women in this Western who gun-sling and save the day. They take the fatal shots and defend their town in the same way we've seen men do for years. Godless explores a different version of the Western genre through the lens of characters who are often a part of the genre, but rarely the focus. Release Date 2017 - 2017-00-00 Network Netflix Directors Scott Frank Cast Sam Waterston Marshall John Cook