Reddit Picks This Western Gem with 97% Tomatometer as ‘The Best Show of All Time’

A deserted road in the middle of the endless expanse of the American outback. Two opponents in hats face each other. Each is ready at a moment's notice to pull the trigger and send the enemy to the next world. Scenes like these take us back to a time when sheriffs and marshals were little different from criminals.

It's hard to imagine something like this in the 21st century, but Justified manages to tell the classic story of the Wild West in modern Kentucky in the most realistic and effective way possible. The premiere took place in 2010 and the finale was shown in 2015, but the series still deserves attention nine years after it ended.

Justified is not put on the same level as recognized masterpieces like The Sopranos or Breaking Bad, although at its best, this grandiose neo-western is no inferior to even the most popular TV series in history. No wonder Reddit users have called it “one of the greatest TV shows ever made.”

Justified Is Based on The Elmore Leonard Story and Follows His Style to The End

Justified is technically based on the short story Fire in the Hole by crime novelist Elmore Leonard. The author helped develop the concept as a producer, but could hardly have imagined the scope of the show: six seasons, a well-developed criminal world, attention to detail, and an entire universe in which different storylines imperceptibly intertwine.

In the early years, the film crew was given wristbands with the abbreviation WWED – What Would Elmore Do – so that no one, from the writers to the makeup artists, would deviate from the original concept. The last three seasons were released after Leonard's death, but clearly with respect for his style.

Justified's Villains Are Not All Criminal Geniuses

The greatest confrontations in the series do not boil down to banal hatred or the desire to destroy the enemy at all costs. The Joker reminds Batman that he will be bored to death without him, and Sherlock Holmes admires Moriarty and respects the king of the underworld for his keen mind.

The relationships between the main antagonists in Justified are no less complicated. Raylan Givens' main antagonist from the very first episode is his old acquaintance Boyd Crowder, played by The Hateful Eight star Walton Goggins.

However, Givens also catches the most common criminals, who, unlike in many other crime shows, do not all act like masterminds.

“This show was unique for its great dialogue, and its unusual but highly realistic central premise, which is that most criminals are idiots. Most crime shows are full of absurdly unrealistic Moriarty-type villains who are constantly pulling all the strings effortlessly, bending all of reality to their will, which is malarkey,” Reddit user ike1 wrote.

Realistic approach, lack of pretentious morality, competent balance between drama, comedy and action made Justified a cult show. The writers don't just fill the holes in the story with gunshots and fights, the plot develops consistently and logically.

The people Raylan meets form alliances, fall in love, betray each other and die. All of this seems unpretentious and natural until you realize, after six seasons, how much of an epic has grown out of a story by Elmore Leonard.