For viewers still missing the bleak frontier world of 1883, Netflix has another Western that feels remarkably close to Taylor Sheridan’s hit prequel — despite having no connection to the Yellowstone universe.

Set just one year after the events depicted in 1883, the seven-part limited series Godless takes viewers back to an equally unforgiving American West filled with outlaws, isolated settlements and people fighting simply to survive.

But there is one striking difference.

At the centre of the story is La Belle, New Mexico — a town populated and run almost entirely by women after a devastating mining accident killed most of its men.

And when a notorious outlaw and his gang begin closing in, those women are forced to defend the world they have rebuilt.

A Western Set One Year After 1883

Scott Frank created, wrote and directed Godless, which arrived on Netflix in November 2017, years before he went on to create the hugely successful The Queen’s Gambit.

The story takes place in 1884.

That places it almost directly alongside the world explored in Sheridan’s 1883, where the Dutton family endured an exhausting journey across the American frontier.

The two shows come from different creators and exist in completely separate fictional universes.

Yet their landscapes, historical periods and fascination with people surviving brutal frontier conditions make them feel like natural companions.

Where 1883 follows a family searching for somewhere to build a future, Godless focuses on a community preparing to defend the future it has already created.

A Ruthless Outlaw Is Hunting One Of His Own

Jeff Daniels plays Frank Griffin, a notorious outlaw whose relationship with his former right-hand man, Roy Goode, drives much of the story.

Roy, played by Jack O’Connell, begins turning against Frank and his criminal behavior.

After fleeing with stolen money, a wounded Roy eventually reaches La Belle.

There, he encounters Alice Fletcher.

Played by Michelle Dockery, Alice is an independent widow living on a ranch outside town with her mother-in-law Iyovi, played by Tantoo Cardinal, and her son Truckee, played by Samuel Marty.

Alice nurses Roy back to health.

But giving refuge to a man being hunted by Frank Griffin carries an enormous risk.

Frank isn’t prepared to simply let Roy disappear.

La Belle Is Unlike Most Western Towns

Roy soon discovers something unusual about La Belle.

Most of its men are dead.

A catastrophic mining accident devastated the community, leaving women to keep the town functioning and rebuild their lives after losing husbands, fathers and sons.

That gives Godless a perspective rarely placed at the centre of traditional Westerns.

These women aren’t merely waiting for gunfighters to determine their fate.

They run businesses.

They maintain homes.

They raise families.

They make decisions about the future of their community.

And eventually, they face the possibility that Frank Griffin’s gang may bring violence directly to their doorstep.

The Women Of Godless Drive The Story

Alice isn’t the only formidable woman in the series.

Merritt Wever plays Mary Agnes McNue, the widowed sister of local sheriff Bill McNue, played by Scoot McNairy.

Following the death of her husband, La Belle’s former mayor, Mary Agnes has forged an independent life for herself.

She is intelligent, practical and fiercely protective of the community.

Mary Agnes also develops a relationship with Callie Dunne, played by Tess Frazer, a former prostitute who has become a schoolteacher.

Together with Alice and the other women of La Belle, they give Godless an identity that separates it from many Western stories dominated almost entirely by male gunslingers.

Their strength doesn’t come from pretending frontier life isn’t brutal.

It comes from having already survived its consequences.

Frank Griffin Is Coming To La Belle

Meanwhile, Marshal John Cook, played by Sam Waterston, is pursuing Frank and his gang.

Cook eventually reaches La Belle and warns Sheriff Bill McNue that trouble may be heading their way.

Roy’s presence has placed the town in danger.

He has information.

He has the stolen money.

And Frank wants both.

As the threat moves closer, Godless gradually transforms from a character-driven frontier drama into a tense confrontation between a vulnerable community and an outlaw gang prepared to kill anyone standing between them and Roy.

The women who have already rebuilt La Belle after one catastrophe now face another.

This time, they can see it coming.

Why 1883 Fans May Feel Immediately At Home

Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 follows the Dutton family’s journey from Tennessee through Texas and eventually toward Montana after the Civil War.

James Dutton, played by Tim McGraw, travels with his wife Margaret, played by Faith Hill, and their children as part of a wagon train led by Shea Brennan, played by Sam Elliott.

Like Godless, the series portrays the American frontier without much romanticism.

Travel is dangerous.

Death can arrive suddenly.

Families can be destroyed through bad luck as easily as violence.

And women are forced to endure circumstances that offer them remarkably little protection or control.

That shared emphasis is one of the strongest connections between the two dramas.

Both Westerns Put Widowed Women At The Centre

1883 repeatedly explores those hardships through its female characters.

Claire Dutton, played by Dawn Olivieri, is James’s widowed sister and endures devastating tragedies involving her children.

Her daughter Mary Abel, played by Emma Malouff, attempts to live according to the expectations established by her mother.

Noemi, played by Gratiela Brancusi, is another widow forced to raise her two young sons after losing her husband.

She eventually develops a relationship with Thomas, played by LaMonica Garrett, a former U.S. Army sergeant and Buffalo Soldier travelling with the group.

Their stories echo the experiences of women such as Mary Agnes and Alice in Godless.

The circumstances are different.

The underlying struggle is remarkably similar.

How does someone build a future when the world around them can take almost everything away without warning?

Godless Has The Awards To Back Up Its Reputation

Godless also received major awards recognition.

The limited series won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Jeff Daniels won for his performance as Frank Griffin, while Merritt Wever was also awarded for her portrayal of Mary Agnes McNue.

The series later received recognition for its casting as well.

1883, meanwhile, received three Primetime Emmy nominations but did not win in those categories.

Awards don’t make the two shows interchangeable, and the series approach the Western from different perspectives.

But Godless established itself as more than another streaming genre experiment.

Its performances became one of the strongest parts of its reputation.

Jeff Daniels Makes An Unlikely But Memorable Western Villain

Daniels might not have been the most obvious actor to picture at the centre of a violent Western.

That makes Frank Griffin all the more effective.

The character carries the threat of a traditional outlaw while Daniels gives him an unsettling presence that extends beyond gunfights.

Opposite him, Jack O’Connell’s Roy provides the emotional link between Griffin’s violent world and the community of La Belle.

Michelle Dockery brings another dimension through Alice, whose decision to help Roy places her family and community dangerously close to the conflict.

And Wever’s award-winning Mary Agnes gives the town one of its most determined defenders.

The result is an ensemble rather than a Western built around a single heroic gunslinger.

Scott Frank Controlled The Entire Seven-Episode Story

One reason Godless feels so cohesive is the level of creative control Frank maintained over the project.

He wrote and directed the seven episodes, shaping the limited series from beginning to end.

Before moving heavily into television, Frank had already built a long screenwriting career that included credited work on films such as Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, The Lookout and Logan.

After Godless, he would find even greater Netflix success with The Queen’s Gambit.

But his first major Netflix limited series already displayed the combination of character drama and tightly controlled storytelling that would become central to his television work.

Two Different Westerns With The Same Frontier In Their Blood

Godless isn’t another chapter of the Dutton story.

There is no Yellowstone Ranch waiting in its future.

Frank Griffin isn’t connected to Taylor Sheridan’s universe.

But viewers who loved 1883 for its harsh landscapes, frontier families, tragic losses and determined female characters may find plenty that feels familiar.

Both series strip away much of the mythology surrounding the Old West and focus instead on the people attempting to survive it.

One follows a wagon train moving toward an uncertain future.

The other finds a town of women preparing to protect the future they have already fought to create.

And because Godless tells its complete story across only seven episodes, it offers 1883 fans another self-contained journey into the brutal American frontier.

Godless is available to stream on Netflix.