Hulu’s 6-Part Western Series Is So Good, You Can Rewatch It Multiple Times

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TV Westerns are popular again, but few new shows measure up to Justified, the Hulu series that truly set the standard. It’s hard to imagine now, but Westerns used to be the biggest thing on television, even before police dramas and comedies took over.

Westerns lost popularity by the late 1960s and never really made a comeback – that is, until shows like Yellowstone and Justified began mixing classic Western themes with modern crime dramas. This combination proved popular and became a hallmark of many successful TV shows in the 2020s.

Justified Is Incredibly Rewatchable

Shows exploring Western themes are thriving, but they’re often set in the present day. Popular series like Dark Winds, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Landman reimagine the genre for modern audiences. Traditional Westerns, such as Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Godless, American Primeval, and The Abandons, haven’t found the same success and usually only last for a single season. It’s clear that audiences are really drawn to these updated, ‘Neo-Western’ stories.

While Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, is currently the most productive showrunner working in the modern Western genre, he wasn’t the first to bring it to popularity. That distinction belongs to Graham Yost’s FX series Justified, which premiered in 2010 and ran for six seasons. The show recently returned with a limited-run spinoff, Justified: City Primeval, in 2023.

Based on the work of crime novelist Elmore Leonard, the TV show Justified centered around Raylan Givens, a US Marshal played by Timothy Olyphant. Givens was a tough, world-weary character who wasn’t afraid to skirt the law to get results. Though cynical and quick to anger, he ultimately had good intentions. Olyphant’s portrayal of this flawed hero added a welcome dose of suspense and excitement to the series.

What Makes Justified So Addicting

Every season of Justified featured compelling villains, ranging from rural drug manufacturers to extremist groups, all of whom were despicable enough to make the show’s flawed hero, played by Timothy Olyphant, seem almost reasonable. What made Justified so effective was its inspiration: not the classic Westerns with their clear-cut heroes, but the grittier, more complex style of spaghetti westerns.

Raylan Givens, much like the classic Western anti-hero portrayed by Clint Eastwood, often allied himself with questionable characters and wasn’t afraid to bend the rules – lying, cheating, and even resorting to violence to escape difficult situations. But these flaws weren’t a detriment to the show Justified; instead, they made it incredibly compelling to watch, as his actions were always surprising and his occasional acts of goodness felt truly earned.

Will Justified Ever Come Back?

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

When the original Justified series finished, Raylan Givens’ story felt complete. Because the show followed a case-of-the-week format, it was always possible for Justified to come back without ruining what had already happened. The 2023 spinoff, Justified: City Primeval, demonstrated this perfectly, proving the show could still deliver compelling stories after a long break.

There’s a chance Justified could come back for another season. The ending of City Primeval, where Walton Goggins’ character Boyd Crowder escapes from prison, sets things up nicely for a final adventure with the show’s popular antihero. However, whether or not Justified will actually return remains to be seen.

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2026-03-18 20:09