Though Yellowstone has ended, its legacy lives on in various television series. One of those series is Marshals, which follows Luke Grimes‘ Kayce Dutton as he becomes a U.S. Marshal in Montana. Marshals fits more into the mold of CBS’s tried-and-true procedurals, but it builds on the end of Yellowstone, even bringing back characters from the latter series. Before Marshals or even Yellowstone, another series helped define the neo-Western genre, and it’s currently available to stream in full on Hulu.
We’re talking, of course, about Justified. Based on a series of short stories by Elmore Leonard, Justified follows Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), a U.S. Marshal relocated toKentucky. This is a problem for Raylan; his beat includes Harlan County, where he grew up and couldn’t escape fast enough. Despite his misgivings, Raylan soon finds himself battling a wealth of criminals, while also dealing with the machinations of his former friend turned crime boss Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). The result is a gripping crime thriller with a neo-Western flair that’ll keep audiences hooked from the first episode to the last.
‘Justified’ Dominated The Neo-Western Genre Long Before ‘Yellowstone’ or ‘Marshals’
Timothy Olyphant in JustifiedImage via FX
When talk turns to Justified, it’s often considered one of the best television series of the 2010s, largely because of its layered, well-crafted storytelling. Raylan isn’t just dealing with crimes big and small; he’s also working with his ex-wife, Winona (Natalie Zea), for whom he still carries a torch. There’s also his unwavering sense of justice, which leads him to make decisions with massive ripple effects; the pilot episode, titled “Fire in the Hole” after Elmore Leonard’s original short story, sees him shooting a criminal who pulls a gun on him. This key moment sums up Raylan’s character, as he believes in doing the right thing no matter what.
The series’ major draw, though, is the dynamic between Raylan and Boyd. Their paths run parallel, as Raylan fights to bring justice to criminals while Boyd is willing to steal, kill, and lie to hold onto whatever power he can. Boyd also had a complex relationship with his sister Ava (Joelle Carter), mirroring Raylan’s dynamic with his loved ones. Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins poured themselves into these characters, to the point where their working relationship took a blow, but it results in the kind of compelling characters that came to define “Peak TV.” Yellowstone and Marshals would follow suit, but Justified still remains the neo-Western to beat.
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz Which Taylor Sheridan Show Do You Belong In? Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn’t write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan’s world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan’s universe is always absolute — and always costly.
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it’s crossed.
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan’s worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they’re defending.
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan’s world is never given — it’s established, maintained, and constantly tested.
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
10
When it’s over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan’s characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
‘Justified’ Ended on a Perfect Note
Justified ran for six seasons, delivering a satisfying conclusion that sees Boyd finally carted off to jail and Raylan returning to Florida to spend time with his daughter, Willa. What makes it so satisfying is that this is one of the rare series to end on a creator’s terms, as showrunner Graham Yost felt six seasons was enough time to tell the story he wanted to tell:
“A lot of it was just figuring out how much story we had left. Our biggest concern is running out of story and repeating ourselves. This was a long conversation. There were financial incentives to keep going, but it really felt, in terms of story, that six years felt about right.”
Timothy Olyphant would eventually return to play Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval, which pits Raylan against a deadly new criminal and even set the stage for Boyd Crowder’s potential return. Unlike most revivals, City Primeval doesn’t backtrack or contradict previous events in Justified; instead, it explores how Raylan’s unwavering sense of justice fares in the modern day. It even features a surprising connection to another movie based on Elmore Leonard’s work, showcasing how the author continues to influence Justified.
Whether you’re a fan of Marshals or not, Justified is more than worth your time. Not only is it a great thriller, but it also set the stage for the neo-Western’s resurgence, meaningYellowstone, Marshals, and Taylor Sheridan‘s entire career owe a debt to this show.
