Pierce Brosnan’s The Son: An Ambitious Western Drama With Taylor Sheridan’s TV DNA

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Taylor Sheridan has become a major force in television, successfully bringing Westerns back into popular culture. Another series had the potential to achieve similar success, but it didn’t quite take off. During the 2010s, audiences generally preferred crime shows and science fiction over traditional Westerns.

Westerns have recently become very popular again after a period of decline. Pierce Brosnan’s series, The Son, which ran for two seasons on AMC (2017-2019), would likely have been a hit if it had aired during this current resurgence. Although the show, with only 20 episodes, didn’t initially attract a large audience, it remains a worthwhile series to watch.

The Son Shares DNA With Taylor Sheridan’s Various Shows

Starring Pierce Brosnan, the series The Son tells the epic life story of Eli McCullough, a powerful Texas rancher, and the history of his land over several generations. Like Taylor Sheridan’s other shows, it explores themes of power and family legacy. Similar to how 1883 and 1923 reveal the origins of the Dutton family from Yellowstone, The Son jumps between different time periods.

The series follows Eli, a man who begins as a cattle rancher and later becomes an oil tycoon. We see his life unfold across two different time periods, with Jacob Lofland portraying him as a young man. The story reveals his childhood in the 1850s, where he was taken in and raised by the Comanche, and his later years in the early 1900s, where he’s a powerful and often unforgiving leader determined to build a lasting legacy for his family in the oil business.

As a big fan of Taylor Sheridan’s work, I noticed something interesting about The Son. The way the story unfolds, revealing itself in layers, really reminded me of how he builds out the Yellowstone universe with multiple shows all exploring different facets of the Dutton family. But where Yellowstone spreads things out, The Son keeps everything contained within a single narrative. Honestly, the movie isn’t really about Eli himself, but about how his experiences echo through the generations that follow. It’s less about his direct journey and more about the legacy he leaves behind, which I found really compelling.

Similar themes appear in Sheridan’s show Landman, which centers on the current oil industry. Though The Son depicts an earlier era, focusing on how western cattle ranches transformed into oil empires, the way Eli changes from a rancher to an oilman highlights the connection between land, money, and industry – a recurring topic in Sheridan’s work.

Pierce Brosnan’s The Son Wasn’t Appreciated Enough Upon Release

Despite being a sprawling series with a complex story, The Son didn’t immediately capture a large audience. After two seasons of ten episodes each on AMC, it ended in 2019, leaving some of its potential unexplored due to the limited run.

Reviews for The Son were mixed. While Pierce Brosnan received praise for his acting, critics generally felt the show moved too slowly and didn’t fully develop its characters or story, especially considering its ambitious scope. Rotten Tomatoes currently gives it a 50% rating, reflecting this consensus.

One reason The Son might not have found a larger audience could be when it was released. Though the show premiered in 2017, interest in TV Westerns hadn’t really started to grow yet. By the time season two aired in 2019, Yellowstone had begun, but the Western genre hadn’t fully become popular again. Ultimately, The Son ended before it could benefit from this increasing popularity.

Though it didn’t become a mainstream hit during its original run, The Son has earned a reputation as a well-kept secret. Many viewers enjoyed the show’s sweeping, century-spanning story and wished it had continued beyond its two seasons.

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2026-04-06 04:48