All 11 – From violent frontier survival to corporate backstabbing and Texas shootouts, here’s every Taylor Sheridan show ranked by how much action—and intensity—you’ll get. (Excluding The Road, per the list’s note.)
For decades. Taylor Sheridan has built a TV world where power is real. danger is close. and the American landscape—ranches. oilfields. prisons. frontier trails—doesn’t care about your intentions. Some of his shows hit you with constant violence. Others keep you on edge through deals, grief, and institutional pressure.
This ranking counts 11 Taylor Sheridan shows, skipping The Road as a reality competition show where the most action is singing.
‘The Madison’ (2026–Present)
It’s never a nice feeling to be an outsider in your own family. The Madison follows the Clyburn family after a tragic plane crash takes the lives of Stacy Clyburn’s husband and his brother. The surviving Stacy. played by Michelle Pfeiffer. moves from New York City to Montana’s Madison River Valley and stays at a remote ranch near Bozeman—trying to cope with her loss while the world refuses to slow down for her.
While loyal Yellowstone fans might expect non-stop conflict, The Madison’s slow-burning tension is shaped more by grief than gunfire. The show’s emotional pressure—everyone hurting, everyone not on the same page—does most of the work. For viewers who prefer bittersweet countryside sentimentality over a steady stream of fights, that’s the appeal.
‘Landman’ (2024–Present)
Landman lives in the oilfields of West Texas. where roughnecks and billionaires push for control in a business boom that carries a human cost. At the center is Tommy Norris. played by Billy Bob Thornton. an M-Tex executive who gets stuck between corporate power players and the riggers risking their lives every day.
Violence doesn’t disappear—it just doesn’t always lead the story. When Landman turns to action. it’s usually to deal with outlaws. and the action intensifies when the drug cartel is involved later in the series. Much of the show’s momentum instead comes from corporate battles: M-Tex facing a financial crisis after a destroyed offshore rig. and the constant push-and-pull of negotiations. backstabbing. and scapegoating.
‘1883’ (2021–2022)
If you’re looking for head-to-head brutality, 1883 may not match Sheridan’s more contemporary fight-forward shows. Aside from occasional bandit attacks, the series leans into survival and endurance as the Dutton ancestors work their way toward a future that would eventually become Yellowstone.
There are threats on the road. but nature itself is treated like a main enemy alongside disease. exhaustion. and sudden loss. With only horses and caravans carrying them across the frontier. the show delivers a gritty. grounded look at the brutal realities of surviving the Oregon Trail before the family finally settles in Montana.
‘1923’ (2022–2025)
1923 takes the Dutton story into an even harsher frame: survival, colonialism, and generational trauma. Jacob Dutton. played by Harrison Ford. and Cara Dutton. played by Helen Mirren. are in their elder years. and they leave much of the fighting to the ranch hands as they struggle to keep their land intact with limited capacity.
But 1923 promises more brutal action beyond Montana. In Africa. the wildlife in Kenya is framed as far deadlier than anything on the frontier—home to raging elephants. leopards. and lions. Fighting humans is difficult enough, but the show makes it clear that animals don’t care about morality or mercy. To them, you’re just flesh waiting to be consumed.
‘Dutton Ranch’ (2026–Present)
Picking up right after the Yellowstone finale. Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Dutton (Cole Hauser) move to South Texas after a wildfire engulfs the Montana wildlife. With their adopted son. Carter (Finn Little). the family starts over by purchasing a new ranch—only to find the competition is already pushing back.
Not everyone is happy with the change, especially Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), the owner of the highly pragmatic 10 Petal Ranch. Since Beth and Rip are outsiders, the day-to-day business is conducted as civilly as possible—but it’s still strict, still stern, and still prepared to turn.
Because it’s early in the show at the time of writing, action hasn’t fully ramped up yet. Still. Dutton Ranch makes its intent clear through characters like Beulah’s wildcard son and Carter. who isn’t afraid to tackle an abusive man. The softness and violence are paced so the show knows exactly when to switch modes.
‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ (2023)
Lawmen: Bass Reeves follows the real-life lawman who reportedly made more than 3. 000 arrests. tracing Reeves as one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River. The series plays Reeves as both a historical recount and a character study. beginning with his beginnings in slavery and moving toward his rise as a feared and respected lawman on the frontier.
Much of Reeves’ work involves lengthy investigations and tracking fugitives across dangerous territory. The show doesn’t let the pacing get lazy, though. Reeves is also an expert marksman—capable of turning a standoff violent in seconds.
Shootouts, ambushes, fistfights, and tense manhunts sit alongside uglier moments when the law doesn’t side with men like Reeves.
‘Marshals’ (2026–Present)
In Marshals, Kayce Dutton—played by Luke Grimes—goes back into the field after the death of his wife. A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Kayce turns to serving as a U.S. Marshal to cope with grief.
Unlike Yellowstone. where Kayce follows an unspoken code within his family and ranch world. Marshals puts him on his own as he’s thrown into the deep end of protecting Montana. The show wastes no time loading danger onto his schedule. including investigating a possible terror attack on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation.
His moral code becomes the law. Kayce is still not exactly gentle, even if he’s not quite as abrasive as what he’s accustomed to during his Yellowstone days. And when the story needs action, it promises it in the form of shootouts, horse chases, and explosions.
‘Tulsa King’ (2022–Present)
Tulsa King begins with a New York Mafia premise, then surprises you by leaning lighter than expected for a gangster crime drama. After being imprisoned for 25 years, Dwight “The General” Manfredi, played by Sylvester Stallone, expects to be treated like a hero for never snitching on his bosses.
Instead, he’s exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma—the middle of nowhere—forced to build his own business from scratch. The action isn’t only about threats and weapons, either. A big part of the show is Dwight assembling a crew of misfits who don’t always get along.
When the team finally locks in, the fights land as lively and tightly choreographed: grappling, shootouts, and perfectly timed takedowns.
‘Yellowstone’ (2018–2024)
Everyone—literally everyone—is beating the living lights out of each other in Yellowstone. The series centers on John Dutton III. played by Kevin Costner. and his exceptionally different adult children. and it makes one thing painfully clear: everybody is capable of physically handling themselves. whether they’re ranchers working the land or corporate players fighting from behind office desks.
The common thread is protection—protecting the ranch from vulture enterprises and corporations trying to seize it. On their best days, fistfights break out outside the family home. Casual beatings can be used to remind enemies who is in charge.
At their worst, rival gangs send men to tear through offices, leaving bloody trails of bodies. It doesn’t matter whether this violence happens in a store in broad daylight or in a bar at night—one wrong move, and you’re gone.
‘Mayor of Kingstown’ (2021–Present)
Mayor of Kingstown turns action into something colder. Mike McClusky, played by Jeremy Renner, becomes the unofficial “mayor,” or rather the fixer, of the fictional Kingstown—a place that feels less like home and more like a company town built on incarceration.
A former inmate himself, Mike understands how to keep the criminal underworld from spiraling out of control. With seven prison systems within a 10-mile radius, he’s always one arm’s length away from violence: pulling a gun, slamming someone into the ground, or getting nearly stabbed.
The show’s scariest violence isn’t random. It stems from a corrupt prison system that fails to rehabilitate the incarcerated.
‘Mayor of Kingstown’ (tied for action intensity in the list’s structure as #2)
The list’s structure places Mayor of Kingstown at number 2 and Yellowstone at number 3, emphasizing that Kingstown’s violence runs through system failures—danger that feels structural, not seasonal.
‘Yellowstone’ (tied for action intensity in the list’s structure as #3)
Yellowstone holds the top spot for constant physical confrontation, making it the most relentlessly fight-forward entry in this ranking.
‘Yellowstone’ (Ranked as #3 in the list) and ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ (Ranked as #2 in the list)
Analytical connections between what’s been shown here are hard to miss: some shows place danger in the open through shootouts and fistfights, while others keep action contained in negotiations, investigations, grief-driven missions, and a system where violence is built into the rules.
Where the rankings stand now
If you want maximal action, this list nudges you toward Yellowstone, then Mayor of Kingstown—two worlds where physical force is the language people use when leverage runs out.
If you’re chasing intensity with a different flavor, shows like Marshals and Tulsa King deliver frequent confrontations, while Landman saves some of its violence for moments when business power fractures into outlaws and cartel involvement.
And if you want the kind of tension where the threat is never far but the story moves differently, The Madison turns the spotlight toward surviving loss—proof that in Sheridan’s universe, not all danger is loud.
Taylor Sheridan Yellowstone Landman The Madison 1883 1923 Dutton Ranch Lawmen: Bass Reeves Marshals Tulsa King Mayor of Kingstown