Cowboy up: Josh Brolin's 'Outer Range' shows TV is still wild about Westerns after 'Yellowstone'

Josh Brolin had a 10-gallon-sized decision to make before taking on Amazon's Western series "Outer Range."

The "True Grit" star, who grew up on a ranch in Templeton, California, pondered over the perfect hat to portray his laconic Wyoming rancher. "When you grow up on a ranch, you know how much the hat matters," says Brolin, 54. "I went through quite a few, like 20 to 25 hats, before I finally chose the right one."

While Brolin eventually settled on a whiskey-colored, custom-made Cattleman's hat for "Outer Range," (premiering Friday; two episodes weekly), an entire posse of actors is wrangling with the same dilemma amid the resurgence of Western dramas on TV.

This year has already demonstrated the strength of the current Western stampede, with Kevin Costner leading the modern Montana Dutton family in "Yellowstone," to a fourth-season finale that drew 9.3 million viewers to the Paramount Network in January. Executive producer Taylor Sheridan's "1883" spinoff, the settler origin story of the Duttons' Yellowstone Ranch, proved to be a runaway wagon train Paramount+ success with its explosive February finale.

On the heels of the eight-week "Outer Range" run, Epix's "Billy the Kid" begins an eight-episode ride on April 24, highlighting the famed cowboy outlaw.

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"I don't know what the zeitgeist is or why people think this is all working," says "1883" star (and country singer) Tim McGraw, 54, who endured months of Montana outdoor shoots with his co-star and real-life wife Faith Hill. "But I've always loved Westerns and wondered why they didn't make more. I now know. They're expensive, unpredictable and difficult to make. But when there's a viewer connection, everyone is like, 'We need to crank this up and do more.' As a fan, I'm so happy to see it."

The current Western resurgence is real and formidable, and extends to recent movies, too, with Netflix's "The Harder They Fall" and Oscar-winning "The Power of the Dog." But the current landscape is no match for TV's cowboy-filled early days, says Joshua Garrett-Davis, associate curator of Western history, popular culture and firearms for the Autry Museum of the American West.

More: 'Power of the Dog' star Benedict Cumberbatch responds to 'very odd' criticism of the movie

James Arness' U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon wore his trademark Stetson through 635 episodes of "Gunsmoke," starting in 1955, alongside classic TV Westerns like “Bonanza,” “Wagon Train,” and "Rawhide." In 1959, 26 primetime shows were Westerns, says Garrett-Davis: "TV has never been back to that point of saturating the medium."

While the genre's popularity declined, it never disappeared with shows like NBC's "Little House on the Prairie," CBS' "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," AMC's "Hell on Wheels" and HBO's "Deadwood" and "Westworld," bringing unique twists to respective decades.

The groundswell success of "Yellowstone" has spurred on the current renewal, enhanced by modern urban living amid a confining COVID-19 pandemic, says Garrett-Davis. "There’s that nostalgia for the life where you are working on the land," he says. "These shows use the landscape as a character. It's like a Sierra Club calendar on the wall. That's key."

McGraw, a rodeo rider in high school, lived this authenticity up close as he implemented all his skills and learned more in the five-month, sleep-deprived "1883" shoot amid the elements. It made him appreciate the real settlers' travails depicted onscreen.

"It sounds and looks fun, but then you start thinking, 'Well, how many baths have we taken?' Even filming, there wasn't a lot of showering going on," says McGraw. "The West has a romanticized vibe. But when you start thinking about everyday life and minutiae, it's like, maybe not."

The rugged set was a far contrast to February's Screen Actors Guild awards, where a showered and formally attired McGraw and Hill shared a table with Costner. The couple presented an award, and the "Yellowstone" cast basked in an ensemble acting nomination, a rarity for TV Westerns and a testament to its cultural impact.

"I'm so glad that's finally happening," says McGraw. "I've been really surprised each year that it hasn't ."

With critical plaudits and still-surging fandom, the Sheridan Western Universe will continue to expand. "Yellowstone" is preparing a fifth season to air later this year, and Paramount+ announced a new series, "1932," following a new generation.

In the new cowboy rush, Western actor crossovers and coincidences abound: Brolin's daughter, Eden, plays Mia, a rodeo barrel racer on "Yellowstone." Shooting the breeze before an "Outer Range" scene with his Will Patton, who plays adversarial neighbor Wayne Tillerson, Brolin discovered that Patton also played Season 4 villain Garrett Randall on "Yellowstone."

"I didn't know he was on 'Yellowstone' and I've known Will a long time," says Brolin. "We talked about hats for, like, 15 minutes. I guess he wanted to wear one hat on 'Yellowstone' and they wanted him to wear another one."

In "Outer Range," Tillerson sets up a modern Hatfield-McCoy feud against Brolin's Abbott clan. But with a mysterious time travel portal appearing on Abbott's rural grazing pasture, "Outer Range" veers distinctly paranormal, with bizarre happenings reminiscent of ABC's "Lost."

Brolin describes creator Brian Watkins' vision as "a Western drama attacked by a metaphysical maelstrom" as Royal fights to keep his family together amid the swirling forces – including wife Cecilia (Lili Taylor) and grown sons Perry and Tom (Tom Pelphrey and Lewis Pullman).

"If this had been another 'Yellowstone' series, I don't think I would have done it. But this was a big enough swing, way more up in the air and dangerous," says Brolin. "This turns the genre on its head." Brolin admits he isn't sure how the Western twist is going to go down with the viewers. Like any good poker player, though, he's happy to double down.

"I like that kind of scared place I'm in where I'm not sure how it's gonna be perceived," Brolin says. "But I like my odds."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Outer Range': Josh Brolin's wild ride, and TV's Western resurgence