6 Years After Its Finale, This Epic Cinematic Western Series Is the Perfect ‘Yellowstone’ Replacement

If you’re in the mood for a quick Western binge that’s on par with the likes of the Yellowstone Universe, look no further than AMC’s The Son. Based on the novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer, the Western drama follows Pierce Brosnan’s “first son of Texas” Eli McCullough as he seeks to secure his family’s legacy in the Lone Star State, no matter who stands in his way. A well-rounded and intense take on the genre, The Son deals with multiple time periods within Texan history as the McCulloughs fight desperately (and often unfairly) for their livelihood and legacy.

‘The Son’ Was ‘Yellowstone’ Before Taylor Sheridan Took Over the TV Genre

Part of what has drawn so many in to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise is that, although the flagship drama is a 21st-century neo-Western, the Dutton story has been explored further in prequels (and upcoming spin-offs) that emphasize how the Dutton empire rose in the first place. 1883 covers the original Montana branch of the family tree as they settle in the Last Best Place, while 1923 notes how they secured their home and fortune in the wake of greedy businessmen and a nationwide depression. But what truly sets The Son apart — which premiered on AMC over a year before Yellowstone first hit the Paramount Network — is that it blended two (and later three) time periods together to tell a sweeping Western epic over the span of 20 episodes. And with three fewer seasons than Yellowstone and no spin-offs to boot, it tells a fuller, more complete story about the harshness of the American West and the legacy of those who settled it than Sheridan ever could.

The Western genre has often waxed poetic about ideas of legacy and progress. Most modern takes on the genre emphasize the violence involved in not just winning the West, but conquering by any means necessary. By the time oil gets involved, things get even messier between the McCullough family and everyone who comes into their path. The Son tackles all the classic Western people groups, from the varying degrees of white settlers who make Texas their home to the warring Native American tribes and Mexican stragglers who attempt to assimilate on the northern side of the border. With characters to root for and despise on all sides of the conflict, this complicated AMC production is the natural successor to the network’s previous horse opera, Hell on Wheels, while paving its own distinct path — even if there are several similarities to what audiences would later see on Yellowstone.

Pierce Brosnan’s Western Series ‘The Son’ Explores 2 Distinct Time Periods of American History

While Brosnan plays the tough-as-nails McCullough patriarch in the future, a man who is not to be trifled with and who could lose control at any moment (just look at Season 2’s “Somebody Get a Shovel”), a younger Eli appears in the show’s 1850s narrative played by future Landman star Jacob Lofland. Frankly, the young Eli plot is oftentimes more engaging than the 1915 story featuring Brosnan, if not simply because it leans more into the Western historical elements of Texas’ founding. After Eli’s entire family is murdered by a band of Comanche, the young man is made a slave. But, over time, he becomes a Comanche himself, pursuing a romance with the intense Prairie Flower (Elizabeth Frances) and becoming a son of sorts to the chief Toshaway (the ever-impressive Zahn McClarnon). If the statement “what’s past is prologue” is true for any character, it’s especially relevant for the older Eli McCullough, whose past clearly informs his present, giving us a deeper look at how he went from being a man of honor to one of Texas’ most fearsome colonels.

Conversely, the 1915 story engages with a narrative that feels eerily like Yellowstone, though it arguably handles its characters and plot with far more care and intentionality. Eli is the John Dutton-like (Kevin Costner) patriarch, as we’ve established, and just like the Dutton figurehead, he has two sons who are responsible for different functions of the family business — his older boy, Phineas (David Wilson Barnes), is the politically aspiring middle son, while his youngest, Pete (Henry Garrett), is the prodigal child who remains Eli’s favorite, the one he wants to take over the ranch one day. Like the Duttons, the McCulloughs fend off neighboring rivals who would just as soon take the land back from them (in this case, the Mexican García family rather than a collection of Indian tribes), as well as outside parties interested in the land for its oil. It doesn’t get more intense than this.

Then we get to the third time period, which isn’t introduced until the second and final season. Set in 1988, it follows an old Jeannie McCullough (Lois Smith), Eli’s granddaughter, who eventually takes over the brand, serving as the last remaining McCullough of this patch of South Texas. Idolizing her grandfather, Jeannie interacts with a young ranch hand named Ulises Gonzales (Alex Hernandez), who remains quite curious about the famed Texan Colonel who built the empire that Jeannie so comfortably enjoys. The way their story ends is a powerful one, concluding The Son saga with a new son who aims to take back the land and legacy by bridging the gap between two rivals.

‘The Son’ Is a Gritty Western That Gets a Satisfying Ending

The biggest tragedy of The Son is that AMC axed the Western series too soon. After the first 10 episodes dropped in 2017, the Bronsan-led drama was quickly renewed by the network, but AMC quickly announced that Season 2 would be its final season as well. In 2019, the series ended with a climactic final episode that redefines the rest of the story, blurring the lines between the myth of the American West and the historical realities that founded it. It’s the type of ending that is as complicated as it is satisfying, but one that you’ll likely enjoy more than what Paramount would do years later with Yellowstone.

The performances alone are well worth the 20-episode binge, as Pierce Brosnan commands the screen as the tortured and conflicted Eli McCullough, always trying to gain the upper hand on everyone around him. If there’s one thing about The Son we wished would last just a little longer, it would be that we could see how the young Eli played by Lofland became the hardened cattle baron and oil tycoon we see him as at the end of his life. Although The Son explores some of that, there are so many years between 1952 and 1915 that we’re left to fill in the blanks. Either way, the drama offers something a bit more satisfying than many modern Westerns that end before their time.

The Son is available for streaming on AMC+.