Netflix viewers call cowboy series the ‘new Yellowstone’ after strong opening reviews

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The new Netflix series Territory is earning rave reviews from critics while fans on social media have compared it to hit shows Yellowstone and Succession.

The Australian series arrived on the streaming service last week.

An official synopsis says: “When the world’s largest cattle station is left without a clear successor, generational clashes threaten to tear the Lawson family apart.

“Sensing this once great dynasty is in decline, the outback’s most powerful factions – rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders and billionaire miners – move in for the kill.”

On reviews aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes the series is rated 80% fresh, with Hollywood Reporter critic Daniel Fienberg declaring: “The cattle in Territory may not have a lot of genetic diversity — it’s a plot point! — and the hats may look a bit worn around the edges. But whatever you’re looking for, this series has a lot of it.”

On social media, viewers pointed out the similarities to Yellowstonewith one writing: “I’m just 1,5 episodes in, but if #Netflix cancels this Aussie Yellowstone gem of a show, they are damn fools and we all should cancel subscription and renew it for a month when a particular show comes out, because COME ON! #Territory”

Another viewer added: “the new Netflix show ‘Territory’ is a mixture of Yellowstone and Succession. 9/10”

Others were less complimentary about the parallels, with one writing on X: “Territory is just Yellowstone with accents.”

Another said: “Netflix just dropped a new series called Territory that’s basically Yellowstone (hate to admit, it’s an admittedly great show)...”

In a B- review for AV Club, critic Todd Lazarski said he found the show both “bloody” and “soapy.”

“With such a shotgun-and-pickup-truck swagger, and a plot in conversation with season two of Fargo, Netflix seeks to get in on the wide-open-spaces itch of fans of Yellowstone, or Tulsa King, or whatever else Taylor Sheridan is cooking up under the expansive stars of his ranch,” wrote Lazarski.

“But it’s not long before the tough-guy-and-girl schtick runs a bit toward pulpy, ending frequently in the realm of soapy. And for stretches, it can read as downright sudsy, with a love story sparked around an awkward request to take iPhone vids of some sweet horseback-riding moves. A Road House-esque brawl is precipitated by the kind of bar entrance where you hop on your buddy’s back and jostle his hat down over his eyes and then start a for-fun quarrel with bottles smashed over heads.”

Territory is on Netflix now.

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