Prime Video’s Better Version of ‘Yellowstone’ Is a 6-Part Western You Can Binge in an Evening

Taylor Sheridan has become the lifeblood of the modern Western. Yellowstone turned the Duttons into television royalty by mixing land disputes, bitter rivalries, and enough family betrayals to keep an entire ranch in turmoil for six seasons. The formula works, and so do Yellowstone’s multiple spin-offs. However, the genre has more to offer than families fighting to protect their empires.

A Prime Video miniseries takes a more intimate approach and trades sprawling domestic feuds for an unlikely partnership between two people who have very little in common. Starring Emily Blunt in one of her most compelling roles, The English takes viewers into a brutal corner of the American frontier, where revenge drives the plot and survival demands uneasy alliances.

It has the scale, the violence, and the sweeping scenery of a major Western production. Even better, The English tells a complete story in just six episodes, making it ideal for an evening binge-watch.

Diego Lopez Calvin/©Amazon/Drama Republic/Courtesy Everett Collection

Paramount

Created by Hugo Blick, The English follows Cornelia Locke (Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives in the American West in 1890 to avenge her son’s death. Her journey brings her face-to-face with Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), a Pawnee former cavalry scout who wants to claim land promised to him for his military service. Their paths cross under life-or-death circumstances, and the two eventually travel together in pursuit of their separate goals.

Cornelia and Eli make an unusual Western pairing. Blunt’s character is privileged and carries a reckless determination to settle her personal score. Spencer’s Eli has endured military service, racism, and the loss of his place in a country that has repeatedly denied him his rights. She speaks her mind; he observes before he acts.

Their differences create plenty of friction, but they also give each character something the other has lost. Eli helps Cornelia navigate a world that can easily destroy her, while her optimism gradually gives him a reason to look beyond his painful past.

The connection between the two main characters develops with a warmth that gives The English its emotional pull. Blunt and Spencer balance intensity and vulnerability. Their growing affection feels earned because the show gives them time to build trust through shared danger, honest conversations, and small acts of kindness.

Yellowstone features constant feuds surrounding the Duttons’ land and legacy. Those conflicts make for binge-worthy television, but The English is more moving because it takes a quieter approach.

Every Episode of ‘The English’ Plays Like an Award-Worthy Western Movie

Since he wrote and directed all six episodes, Hugo Blick gave The English a distinct visual identity. The series doesn’t follow the usual rhythm of a television drama that stretches its conflict across multiple seasons. Instead, each chapter advances Cornelia and Eli’s journey while gradually revealing the people, heartbreaks, and historical injustices that shaped their lives.

The violence is still brutal, the stakes remain high, and the narrative has plenty of twists. The frontier is every bit as harsh, too. However, it never loses sight of its characters. We get a complete revenge story without the detours that sometimes weigh Yellowstone down as there are too many competing subplots.

The craftsmanship gives the miniseries a cinematic quality that few Western series can match. Although the story takes place in the American West, The English was shot almost entirely in Spain, using its rugged countryside to recreate the prairies and mountains of 1890s America. The result recalls the grand visual style of classic Spaghetti Westerns, and the genre has a fresh look here.

The beauty never softens the show’s more important subject matter. The English explores colonialism, racism, greed, and violence without turning the frontier into a romantic playground. It earned an 84% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with specific praise for Blunt and Spencer’s performances.

Yellowstone remains the gold standard for modern Westerns, but The English makes a convincing case for a more focused, visually adventurous alternative. The six-episode miniseries with its memorable central relationship is a Western worth canceling evening plans for.

Release Date

2022 – 2022

Network

BBC Two

Directors

Hugo Blick

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