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Justified (TV series)

Justified is an American neo-Western crime drama[2] television series that premiered on March 16, 2010, on the FX network.[3][4] Developed by Graham Yost, it is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole".[3] Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice.[3] The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up. It also features Lexington, Kentucky, where the local U.S. Marshals office is situated.[5] The series, comprising 78 episodes, was aired over six seasons and concluded on April 14, 2015.[6]

Justified

"Fire in the Hole"
by Elmore Leonard

Graham Yost

"Long Hard Times to Come" by Gangstagrass

Steve Porcaro

United States

English

6

78 (list of episodes)

Francis Kenny

37–53 minutes

FX

March 16, 2010 (2010-03-16) –
April 14, 2015 (2015-04-14)

Justified received critical acclaim throughout most of its run[7] and has been listed by several publications as one of the best shows of the 2010s.[8] Its acting, directing, art direction, and writing were praised, as were the performances of Olyphant and Walton Goggins. Justified was nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Awards, with two wins, for Margo Martindale's performance as Mags Bennett and Jeremy Davies' performance as Dickie Bennett.[9]


In January 2022, FX announced Justified: City Primeval, a limited sequel series with Olyphant reprising his role as Raylan Givens.[10] It premiered on July 18, 2023, and ended on August 29, 2023.[11]

as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a lawman who, after making headlines killing a fugitive, is sent to Kentucky, where he gets deeply involved in the criminal element of his hometown. Raylan was born and raised in Harlan, Kentucky, where his father was a well-known career criminal. Raylan suffered emotional and likely physical abuse from his father, Arlo. During high school, Raylan played baseball and eventually went to work in the Kentucky coal mines, where he worked with Boyd Crowder. Raylan went to college with money given to him by his aunt. After graduating he became a deputy U.S. Marshal, driving him back to Kentucky. He is divorced from Winona Hawkins, a court stenographer, and is often involved with a variety of women. Raylan is known for wearing a distinctive cowboy hat.

Timothy Olyphant

as Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Art Mullen, who knows Raylan from Glynco. He generally follows the law, but gives Raylan some leeway when he trusts his judgment. Art is more of a father figure to Raylan than Arlo, but becomes distrustful of him after he demonstrates his inability to separate his personal and professional lives, frequently crossing the line between right and wrong.

Nick Searcy

as Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson, a sardonic former Army Ranger sniper who is generally unimpressed by Raylan's antics. Art worries that Tim bottles up his PTSD and is likely to blow at any minute.

Jacob Pitts

as Deputy U.S. Marshal Rachel Brooks, a straight-and-narrow marshal who frequently lashes at Raylan, claiming that he wouldn't get away with his behavior if he weren't white, a man, and handsome.

Erica Tazel

as Ava Crowder, a woman from Harlan who grew up with Raylan and Boyd. Prior to the events of the show, she was married to Boyd's abusive brother Bowman, whom she killed. As the show progresses, Ava becomes central to Harlan's crime syndicate in her own right.

Joelle Carter

as Winona Hawkins (seasons 1–3; recurring seasons 4, 6; guest season 5), Raylan's ex-wife. At the show's start, she is married to Gary Hawkins, a real estate agent. She works at the same courthouse as Raylan as a court stenographer. She still loves Raylan, but does not trust him as a safe choice given his profession and his tendency to get into trouble.

Natalie Zea

as Boyd Crowder (seasons 2–6; recurring season 1), the son of one of Harlan's biggest career criminals. Boyd is known for robbing banks and using pyrotechnics, which brings Raylan, with whom he used to dig coal, back to Harlan. At the start of the series Boyd goes from a member of a white supremacist group to a born again Christian, though he later moves on to attempting to control Harlan's criminal underground.

Walton Goggins

as Wynn Duffy (seasons 5–6; guest seasons 1–2; recurring seasons 3–4), a shady Dixie Mafia businessman who travels around in a motor home and who becomes involved in Harlan crime.

Jere Burns

Reception[edit]

Ratings[edit]

The pilot episode that aired on March 16, 2010, was watched by 4.2 million viewers and was the highest debut show for FX since The Shield.[37]

Critical reception[edit]

Throughout its run, Justified received largely positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Metacritic, all seasons except the first received an 80% score.[38][39][40][41][42][43] Author Elmore Leonard ranked Justified as one of the best adaptations of his work, which includes Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, 3:10 to Yuma and Out of Sight. Leonard also praised the casting of Olyphant as Raylan, describing the actor as "the kind of guy I saw when I wrote his lines".[44]

Home media[edit]

The DVD and Blu-ray sets were released in region 1 on January 18, 2011, for season one,[69] January 3, 2012, for season two,[70] December 31, 2012, for season three,[71] December 17, 2013, for season four,[72] December 2, 2014, for season five,[73] and June 2, 2015, for season six.[74]

Official website

at IMDb

Justified