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Shows Like Yellowstone · Ranked

Shows Like Yellowstone, Ranked by IQ Score

Modern Westerns about land, family, and the cost of holding territory. Ranked by IQ Score.

Yellowstone scores 101/200 (Competent tier) — and audiences who love it typically respond to its specific structural commitments: modern-American-West class architecture, family-as-institutional-territory, and slow-burn character work over genre payoff. These titles operate inside the same register.

Anchor picks: Deadwood (179) is the canonical 19th-century-Western prestige drama Yellowstone descends from. Landman (Taylor Sheridan's industry-set spin) treats West-Texas-oil cognitive material at register Yellowstone fans recognize. Justified is the canonical Elmore Leonard rural-cop drama.

12 titles · ranked by IQ Score

  1. 1
    Deadwood poster — IQ Score 179/200 — Masterclass tier

    Deadwood

    Masterclass western, drama

    A town of thieves, gamblers, and gunfighters form a tenuous civilization. Educational about the frontier and language. Cognitive engagement from the Shakespearean dialogue and the political maneuvering. Entertainment fro…

    179/200
  2. 2
    The Power of the Dog poster — IQ Score 165/200 — Masterclass tier

    The Power of the Dog

    Masterclass drama, western

    A rancher psychologically manipulates a widow and her son. Educational about toxic masculinity and repression. Cognitive engagement from the unreliable perspective. Entertainment from the psychological thriller.

    165/200
  3. 3
    Justified poster — IQ Score 154/200 — Stimulating tier

    Justified

    Stimulating crime, western, drama

    Centers on a gunslinger lawman navigating Kentucky criminal underworld where the tension between justice and pragmatism drives encounters with morally complex antagonists across seasons.

    154/200
  4. 4
    No Country for Old Men poster — IQ Score 154/200 — Stimulating tier

    No Country for Old Men

    Stimulating crime, drama, thriller

    A Vietnam vet steals drug money and is hunted by a remorseless killer. Educational about the Southwest border. Cognitive engagement from being outmatched. Entertainment from the suspense.

    154/200
  5. 5
    Wind River poster — IQ Score 149/200 — Stimulating tier

    Wind River

    Stimulating crime, drama, thriller

    Examines systemic failure to investigate murdered Indigenous women on reservation, forcing viewers to evaluate institutional racism alongside crime narrative.

    149/200
  6. 6
    Hell or High Water poster — IQ Score 145/200 — Stimulating tier

    Hell or High Water

    Stimulating crime, drama, thriller

    Modernizes western through bank-robbery narrative where retired ranger pursues former Special Forces, tracking class resentment and institutional capture.

    145/200
  7. 7
    Landman poster — IQ Score 142/200 — Stimulating tier

    Landman

    Stimulating drama, thriller

    Taylor Sheridan's 2024 Paramount+ series anchored by Billy Bob Thornton as a West Texas oil-industry crisis manager. The structural commitment to letting industry-specific knowledge (drilling economics, lease negotiation…

    142/200
  8. 8
    Lioness poster — IQ Score 114/200 — Competent tier

    Lioness

    Competent action, thriller, drama

    The series weaves espionage thriller mechanics with female athlete character study and CIA operational structure, requiring tracking of dual identity and mission stakes.

    114/200
  9. 9
    Outer Range poster — IQ Score 113/200 — Competent tier

    Outer Range

    Competent sci-fi, western, mystery

    A Wyoming rancher discovers a void on his property. Amazon's slow-burn western mystery is formally distinctive — Josh Brolin's performance anchors a genuinely strange premise. Educational about cattle ranching culture an…

    113/200
  10. 10
    The Madison poster — IQ Score 107/200 — Competent tier

    The Madison

    Competent drama, western

    Taylor Sheridan's 2025 Yellowstone-universe expansion anchored by Michelle Pfeiffer. The structural commitment to letting Pfeiffer's specific dramatic register carry meandering screenplay material is the production's dis…

    107/200
  11. 11
    Yellowstone poster — IQ Score 101/200 — Competent tier

    Yellowstone

    Competent drama, western

    The neo-western drama constructs ranch-family power dynamics and territorial conflict, building character resilience through generational tension and capitalist land struggle.

    101/200
  12. 12
    Tulsa King poster — IQ Score 91/200 — Passive tier

    Tulsa King

    Passive comedy, crime

    The mob-comedy-drama constructs fish-out-of-water premise as crime enforcer adjusts to civilian Oklahoma life, balancing crime tradecraft with small-town earnestness.

    91/200

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