Television series
Bass X Machina
- Action
- Weird western
- Vigilante
- Very dark
- Relentless
A steampunk Western where a father takes violent justice into his own hands to protect his family in a lawless frontier crawling with outlaws and machines. Brutal and atmospheric, with a cast led by Brian Tyree Henry and Janelle Monáe. For anyone hungry for genre mashups that don't apologize for their contradictions—sci-fi grit wrapped in Western moral dread.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love a western with machinery in its bones, where a morally heavy lead carries the genre spectacle and every choice weighs on the people around him.
Skip it if you want light fun or fast-cut action, since its mood runs bleak and its supernatural and steampunk ideas are dense and deliberately weighty.
What it asks of you: Six episodes in a single season, with a grim, deliberate pace that rewards full attention over background viewing.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Mandalorian2019
A father protecting a child through hostile terrain, bounty-hunter pragmatism, and stunning production design. Same DNA: moral compromise in an amoral world, family as anchor, violence as language.
But Slower pacing and more whimsy than *Bass X Machina* seems to promise. Some find it meandering between set pieces.
Westworld2016
Machines and outlaws colliding in a lawless space, philosophical weight under genre thrills, and a genuine sense that the West is already corrupted beyond saving. Gorgeous and cruel.
But Narratively convoluted by its final seasons. The mythology can strangle the storytelling it's trying to support.
Hell or High Water2016
Modern Western about men doing brutal things for family survival, shot with almost unbearable tension. Morally murky in exactly the way that premise suggests—no easy answers, only harder choices.
But Relatively grounded compared to the sci-fi elements. Some find it slower than its reputation suggests.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bass X Machina
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Boy and His Dog1975
Same premise engine: a father keeping his child alive through landscape and violence that corrodes morality. Same question: what does survival cost when the world is already broken?
Post-apocalyptic Western about a father and son surviving in a devastated landscape. Weirdly prescient sci-fi crossed with frontier violence and real family tenderness. Visually strange and genuinely unsettling.
But Brutally cynical, sometimes repellent, and very much a 1975 film—pacing and effects haven't aged to everyone's liking. Hard watch.
More like this (8)
Justified2010
A lawman navigating a lawless landscape where violence solves some problems and creates others. Darkly funny but never trivial about consequence. Timothy Olyphant is magnetic doing violence reluctantly.
But Episodic early on. Takes time to find its rhythm and you have to commit to a long watch.
The Expanse2015
Sci-fi that treats genre machinery as real—political stakes, grinding violence, the weight of power wielded badly. A father-figure making terrible choices in impossible circumstances. Absolutely earned emotional impact.
But Dense mythology and shifting perspective make the first episode impenetrable for some. Also went through network chaos that affected pacing.
True Grit2010
A father hiring an outlaw to hunt the man who killed his daughter. Coen Brothers Western that's both funny and genuinely heartbreaking. Explores the cost of revenge with perfect tonal control.
But Deliberately paced and dialogue-heavy. Not for people who need constant forward momentum.
Gunpowder Milkshake2021
Stylish action sci-fi hybrid with a found family protecting one another in a hostile world. Genre-mashup aesthetics and colour-saturated violence. Karen Gillan and Michelle Yeoh are terrific.
But Prioritizes look and feel over coherent plot. Some sequences feel like music videos that don't advance the story.
The Leftovers2014
A man driven to moral extremes by family loss and supernatural horror. Genuinely unsettling atmosphere, genuinely moving character work, and a willingness to sit with dread instead of resolving it.
But Relentlessly bleak and occasionally indulgent. Emotionally exhausting and not always in the way that serves the story.
Killers of the Flower Moon2023
Western about justice corrupted by greed, family loyalty twisted into complicity. Scorsese's meditation on American violence and moral rot. Visually stunning and historically vital.
But Long and sometimes glacial. Demands patience and doesn't offer catharsis—only a mirror held to American ugliness.
Arcane: League of Legends2021
Same DNA structurally: a family splintered by systems of violence, beautiful production hiding brutal questions about who pays for survival, and the idea that good intentions pave the most expensive roads.
Animated series where a father's death drives political collapse and moral fracture across two sisters. Steampunk aesthetic, sci-fi magic, and devastating character animation. Visually revolutionary.
But Violence is stylized but themes are serious—grief and class warfare don't offer easy answers. Animated format surprises people who think it's 'just' a video game show.
Johnny Guitar1954
Both ask whether the Western can be something other than simple justice. Both center power and survival over morality. Both suggest that the real violence is never just physical.
Nicholas Ray's genuinely weird Western about violence, power, and a woman standing against a mob. Upends every Western convention—the hero is not the fighter, the fight is about something else entirely. Strange and hypnotic.
But Deliberately anti-action-hero Western. Slow, operatic, and interested in talk as much as gunfire. Tests patience with genre expectations.
