Paramount’s Classic 635-Episode Western Makes Taylor Sheridan Look Small

Published Sep 4, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT After 18 months at Screen Rant, Guy became Classic TV Editor in September 2026, and specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and editing several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy and satire, animation, crime drama, Westerns, and political thrillers. Paramount+ has amassed an impressive collection of Taylor Sheridan Westerns in recent years, but there’s another show on the streaming platform that dwarfs Sheridan’s entire output on its own. This classic series has influenced the Western genre more than any other in TV history. Indeed, Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise is one of the genre’s many recent releases in its debt. For one thing, Yellowstone shares a cast member with this all-time great TV Western, in the form of Emmett Walsh actor Buck Taylor. A regular on Gunsmoke for eight seasons, Taylor famously played Dodge City’s deputy lawman Newly O'Brien in the record-breaking series. When he arrived, the show had already been on the air for a remarkable 12 years, and had established itself as the number one Western series in town. Although the number of Taylor Sheridan TV shows is rapidly expanding, all of them combined don’t come close to matching Gunsmoke’s 635 episodes. At the same time, this classic Western show is reminiscent of films starring the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. It goes beyond the basic formula of early serial dramas, by mixing the cinematic setting and visuals of a John Ford epic with the intensity of a Sergio Leone spaghetti Western movie. Gunsmoke Is The Biggest Western Show In TV History With the biggest viewing figures across all TV genres during its heyday, Gunsmoke is the definitive classic Western for the small screen. It raised the sights of television producers working within the genre, by elevating plotlines and production values above the cartoonish gimmickry of The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke is the series primarily responsible for the explosion of Western TV releases at the backend of the 1950s, from Maverick to Bonanza. The show’s careful balance between period realism and genre stylization served as the blueprint for small-screen cowboy story for the three decades that followed its debut season. On its way to setting the record for a primetime live-action drama series with the most consecutive seasons, Gunsmoke became the longest-running Western TV show in history. No other series in the genre is anywhere near surpassing it, just as no lead actor in any other Western could dream of appearing in as many episodes as James Arness. In addition to making Arness a Western TV legend, launched the career of Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds. The series also found guest spots for an array of talent that would go on to define cinema and television during the 1960s and 1970s, with Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Bette Davis, and William Shatner among them. The Show’s Historic Run Makes Taylor Sheridan’s Entire Portfolio Look Tiny By Comparison If we tally together the total number of episodes in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone TV universe, it doesn’t even begin to make a dent in Gunsmoke’s total of 635 episodes across 20 seasons, which aired between 1955 and 1975. Admittedly, many of the 101 episodes in Yellowstone’s shows are longer than the 40 minutes Gunsmoke averaged. Still, Sheridan’s franchise has a long way to go to match the classic Western’s 440 hours of television in total. If we throw in the Yellowstone creator’s other series in the genre, such as Landman and The Madison, for good measure, his overall total rises to 138 episodes, or roughly 120 hours of television. Year(s) Gunsmoke Season Episodes Average runtime 1955–1956 Season 1 39 26 minutes 1956–1957 Season 2 39 26 minutes 1957–1958 Season 3 39 26 minutes 1958–1959 Season 4 39 26 minutes 1959–1960 Season 5 39 26 minutes 1960–1961 Season 6 38 26 minutes 1961–1962 Season 7 34 50 minutes 1962–1963 Season 8 38 50 minutes 1963–1964 Season 9 36 50 minutes 1964–1965 Season 10 36 50 minutes 1965–1966 Season 11 32 50 minutes 1966–1967 Season 12 29 50 minutes 1967–1968 Season 13 25 50 minutes 1968–1969 Season 14 26 50 minutes 1969–1970 Season 15 26 50 minutes 1970–1971 Season 16 24 50 minutes 1971–1972 Season 17 24 50 minutes 1972–1973 Season 18 24 50 minutes 1973–1974 Season 19 24 50 minutes 1974–1975 Season 20 24 50 minutes In fact, as of September 2026, Taylor Sheridan’s complete TV production portfolio spans 231 episodes, not all of which he’s been directly involved in making. By comparison, Gunsmoke’s most prolific screenwriter John Meston has actual script credits on almost 200 episodes of the series. Sheridan likely has many years of franchise expansion ahead of him, and could well have quadrupled his Western TV output by the mid-2030s. Until then, however, Gunsmoke will remain the biggest show in the genre, as well as the one generally regarded as the best ever made. Release Date 1955 - 1975-00-00 Directors Andrew V. McLaglen, Harry Harris, Ted Post, Bernard McEveety, Vincent McEveety Writers John Meston, Charles Marquis Warren, Paul Savage Cast James Arness Marshal Matt Dillon Creator(s) Charles Marquis Warren, Clyde Ware