Some of the most inventive television shows ever have combined genres to create something truly unique. Twin Peaks was a brilliant mash-up of crime drama and supernatural horror. Pushing Daisies brought us a murder mystery every week, mixed with a magical realism fantasy. In the comedy category, there was Barry, which offered plenty of laughs among the dark assassin plot points. But there’s one show out right now that is truly setting the bar for coming up with a completely new genre, and this noir western is a definite must-watch.
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.
Despite his inner pain, Joe is dedicated to keeping the people of the reservation safe. He acts as a mentor to two young police officers, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and tries to advise them on how to serve as law enforcement while still respecting and honoring the Native American traditions. Each season offers Joe and his team a new case to solve, and things often get complicated when mystical forces intervene.
‘Dark Winds’ Combines Western Themes With a Supernatural Twist
Dark Winds wrapped up its fourth season in April, and has already been renewed for a fifth one. That means you have 28 episodes to binge to get caught up with this genius show. The series utilizes some of the same elements of a Western like Yellowstone, yet ends up feeling a million times more authentic. The setting, far away from a big city, is quiet, but has no less insidious danger than a more well-populated area. Joe and Bernadette use their Navajo heritage to help them investigate, incorporating the clues the land gives them to track their perps. But Dark Winds sidesteps being a traditional Western when it comes to its supernatural themes. Just like True Detective, the spiritual world crosses over at times, and it can be difficult for the viewer to figure out what is real and what isn’t. With a terrifying monster haunting Joe in Season 3 and a bloody, hallucinative curse attached to Jim in Season 4, there’s no shortage of creepy moments that make the series all the more riveting.
There has been some criticism about Yellowstone’s acting being a little over-the-top, and this is definitely where Dark Winds sets itself apart from other modern Westerns. Each actor in Dark Winds wholly embodies their characters in a way that ensures the drama feels authentic, much like the all-star cast of True Detective. McClarnon has basically had a campaign started to get him his first Emmy nomination for this role, and Gordon and Matten are steady forces that help to support his star-making turn. Deanna Allison is exceptional as Joe’s loyal, yet heartbroken wife, Emma. Dark Winds has also featured some truly fantastic guest stars so far, including Noah Emmerich, Jenna Elfman, and Jeri Ryan. Titus Welliver offers a sinister edge to Season 4, and Franka Potente successfully portrays one of the scariest villains of all time alongside him. All of the actors work together to create a top-notch cast that brings a necessary realism that is absent from Yellowstone.
Season 5 of Dark Winds likely won’t premiere until 2027, which means you have plenty of time to binge-watch the first four seasons before it arrives. With an impressive 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, there are zero filler episodes to make you lose interest. If you’re missing the mythology and mysteries behind True Detective and the fast-paced action of Yellowstone, Dark Winds can help you fill that void with its fascinating storylines and impeccable cast.
