The Taylor Sheridan-Created Western Series You've Probably Never Heard Of

Taylor Sheridan might be single-handedly responsible for making the Western genre cool again. Ever since the 1970s, when Westerns went out of style, the genre has sort of limped along, with some standout entries managing to draw critical praise and awards wins without reinvigorating the genre as a whole. But Sheridan has seemingly made everyone a fan once again, beginning with his massively popular neo-western series "Yellowstone."

The man's TV empire has expanded rapidly ever since, with multiple "Yellowstone" spin-offs creating an entire franchise centered around the travails of the Dutton family. If you thought it was Kevin Costner and the modern setting that made "Yellowstone" a hit, spin-offs "1883" and "1923" have proved that's not the case. In the wake of all this, others have tried to join in on this Western renaissance, most conspicuously, Netflix, which has churned out hits such as Western series "American Primeval" and "Ransom Canyon," which has been dominating the Netflix chart recently. Meanwhile, Amazon made its own attempt at reinvigorating the Western with "Outer Range" and over on traditional network TV, ABC launched "Big Sky."

All the while, however, Sheridan was consolidating his own power. Not only was the "Yellowstone" universe growing, but the impresario of the franchise was shepherding multiple other TV shows, from spy thriller series "Lioness" to "Landman," which may or may not be connected to "Yellowstone." He also reportedly managed to charge Paramount $50,000 a week to film "Yellowstone" on his ranch, and, as he told CBS Sunday Morning, provided most of the horses for the show. "All the horses, for the most part, in our business are terrible," he said. "They're not very broke, they're not very safe, which is one of the reasons you don't see actors on them very often. I didn't want to do that, so I bought all the horses for the show and then taught the actors how to ride."

With all that in mind, it's not all that surprising to hear that Sheridan oversaw yet another western show in "The Last Cowboy." But this reality competition series isn't just another "Yellowstone" spin-off.

After providing the horses for "Yellowstone," Taylor Sheridan went ahead and cast himself in the series as horse trainer Travis Wheatley. Sheridan himself hails from North Texas where he grew up around ranching, coming to own a 1,200-acre property even before turning to Hollywood. As such, he certainly has the real-life experience to play Wheatley. But it seems injecting all of this experience into "Yellowstone" wasn't enough, as Sheridan has also taken his love for horse training and riding and made a whole documentary competition series out of it. 

"The Last Cowboy" focuses on the sport of horse reining, which sees contestants leading their horses through various courses made up of precise patterns of circles, spins, and stops. The seasons end in the "Run for a Million," a competition that sees 16 riders perform in a Las Vegas arena for a $1 million prize. As the official site of the event states, both it and "The Last Cowboy" are designed to "celebrate the growth of the western lifestyle and western performance equine industry" — something that Sheridan has, of course, had a big hand in. 

The reality show, which airs on Paramount's CMT network and streams on Paramount+, gives viewers an insight into the daily lives of the competitors and horse riders in general, following the training and preparations for the big event. "The Last Cowboy" came in last in /Film's ranking of every Taylor Sheridan show, but that has less to do with it being a bad show and more to do with the fact that the multi-hyphenate's true talents lie in writing his western-tinged soap operas and crime dramas.

If you're looking for shows to watch if you love "Yellowstone," "The Last Cowboy" is a great option for those who find Travis Wheatley's profession of particular interest. Speaking to Bridle & Bit in 2024, Taylor Sheridan explained the genesis of the series:

"During the first season of 'Yellowstone,' I did a scene that included NRHA [National Reining Horse Association] riders. When I was talking to these guys about the industry, there was some discussion about the current state of the industry and how it could improve. I thought about it and started work on creating an event that would showcase and elevate the western performance genre."

Sheridan also talked about how, since the first season, "The Last Cowboy" has evolved to incorporate more "excitement, competition, concerts, and things to do." The show isn't just focused on the competition, either, providing a look at the daily lives of horse trainers and the sport of horse reining as a whole. What's more, this thing has been running for a full five seasons, so there's plenty of binge-watchability to the series, which also seems to have fared quite well on the Paramount Network, despite nobody you know having seen it.

As Deadline reported back in 2019, upon its inaugural airing, "The Last Cowboy" scored the Paramount Network's biggest unscripted premiere since the 2015 debut of "Ink Master: Redemption." That may or may not make up for a lack of reviews, depending on how interested in horse reining and the resurgence of the cowboy you are. One thing's for sure, though. "The Last Cowboy" is far from the last cowboy show we'll see in the coming years, as Sheridan continues his mission to bring back the western for good.