The dust never really settles on a legend. When Lonesome Dove premiered in 1989, it didn't just win Emmys; it basically resurrected the Western genre from the graveyard of television history. People fell in love with Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call. They cried. They obsessed. So, naturally, the hunger for more was ravenous. But here’s the kicker: the 1993 miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove is one of the most controversial pieces of cowboy media ever produced. Not because it was "bad" in the traditional sense, but because it dared to exist without the involvement of the man who dreamt up the world in the first place, Larry McMurtry.
It was a bold move. Maybe too bold.
Imagine trying to paint a sequel to the Mona Lisa without Da Vinci. That’s what CBS attempted when they greenlit this four-episode follow-up. It’s a strange beast of a show. You have these sweeping vistas of Montana and a cast that is, frankly, stacked with talent, yet there’s this nagging feeling that something is… off. If you’ve ever sat through all five-plus hours of it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s the visual equivalent of a cover band that’s actually really good at their instruments but just can’t quite capture the lead singer’s soul.
The Massive Elephant in the Room: Jon Voight vs. Tommy Lee Jones
Let’s talk about the casting. It's the first thing everyone notices. In the original, Tommy Lee Jones played Woodrow Call with a face that looked like it was carved out of a canyon wall. He was stiff, repressed, and legendary. In Return to Lonesome Dove, Jon Voight takes the reins.
Voight is a phenomenal actor. He’s got an Oscar. He’s got the range. But he isn’t Tommy Lee Jones. His version of Call feels a bit softer, maybe a little more weary, and definitely more talkative. For some fans, this was a total dealbreaker. You spend years associating a character with a specific voice and a specific scowl, and suddenly it’s different. It’s jarring.
However, the supporting cast tried their best to bridge that gap. We got Rick Schroder returning as Newt Dobbs, which gave the show some much-needed DNA from the original. Newt is the heart of this specific story, trying to find his footing as a man while Call refuses to officially acknowledge him as his son. Then you have heavy hitters like Barbara Hershey, Oliver Reed, and Louis Gossett Jr. joining the fray.
Oliver Reed, in particular, is a wild card. He plays Gregor Dunnegan, a wealthy rancher, and he brings that classic Oliver Reed intensity—which is to say, he looks like he might explode at any moment. It’s great TV, even if it feels a bit more "Hollywood" than the gritty, dusty realism of the first miniseries.
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Why Larry McMurtry Hated It (And Why That Matters)
Here is a fun fact that usually shocks people who aren't die-hard Western nerds: Larry McMurtry had absolutely nothing to do with this. He didn’t write it. He didn't consult on it. In fact, he was busy writing his own sequel novel, Streets of Laredo, while this was being filmed.
The writers of the Return to Lonesome Dove TV show basically had to invent a future for these characters based on the ending of the first miniseries, totally ignoring where the actual creator was planning to take them. This created a massive rift in the "canon."
- In the TV sequel: Newt stays a central figure and the story feels like a direct continuation of the cattle drive legacy.
- In McMurtry’s world: Things get a lot darker, a lot faster.
Because of this, many purists view the show as high-budget fan fiction. But honestly? Fan fiction can be fun. If you can decouple your brain from the books and just watch it as a 90s Western epic, it actually holds up better than you’d expect. The production value was massive for 1993. We’re talking thousands of cattle, real locations in Montana and Texas, and a score that tries its hardest to mimic the iconic Basil Poledouris theme.
The Plot: More Than Just Moving Cows
The story picks up not long after the first one ends. Call is heading back to Montana with a herd of Mustangs. He’s also dealing with the emotional fallout of Gus’s death—or at least, as much as a man like Call can "deal" with anything. He wants to see the Hat Creek ranch succeed.
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There’s a lot of drama involving Newt. Poor Newt. He’s trying to run a ranch, falling in love, and dealing with the local range wars. The show leans heavily into the "civilizing of the West" trope. You have the arrival of the big cattle barons and the inevitable friction with the independent spirits who just want to be left alone.
It’s less of a "journey" story than the first one. While the original was a literal odyssey from the Mexican border to Canada, this one feels more settled. It’s about the struggle to keep what you’ve built. There are fires, lynchings, and some genuinely tense shootouts. It hits all the beats you want from a Western, even if the dialogue doesn't have that sharp, Pulitzer-prize-winning McMurtry edge.
Is It Actually Worth Watching in 2026?
You've probably seen it popping up on streaming services or late-night cable marathons. Should you give it five hours of your life?
If you are a completist, yes. If you love the aesthetic of the 1880s, definitely. The cinematography is genuinely beautiful. It captures that Big Sky Country feel in a way that few shows did back then. But you have to go into it with the right expectations.
It’s a soap opera with spurs.
That’s not an insult. Some of the best Westerns are essentially family sagas played out on horseback. Return to Lonesome Dove leans into the romance and the melodrama more than its predecessor. It’s a product of its time—the early 90s was the era of the "event miniseries," and CBS wanted a hit. They got one, too. The ratings were huge, even if the critics were lukewarm.
One thing the show does well is exploring the loneliness of the frontier. Even with the "happier" Hollywood sheen, there’s an underlying sadness to Call’s character. He’s a man out of time. The world is changing, and he’s still trying to live by a code that’s rapidly becoming obsolete. Jon Voight actually captures that "lost" feeling quite well, even if his Texas accent occasionally wanders toward the East Coast.
The Strange Legacy of the Lonesome Dove Universe
Most people don't realize how bloated this franchise actually got. You have the original. Then this sequel. Then McMurtry’s actual sequels and prequels got adapted (Streets of Laredo, Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon).
This makes Return to Lonesome Dove the "odd man out." It’s the branch of the multiverse that doesn't quite fit with the others. In Streets of Laredo (the "official" sequel), certain characters from the first story meet very different ends than they do here. It’s confusing. It’s messy.
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But for a certain generation of viewers, this was the sequel. Before the internet made it easy to track which author wrote what, people just tuned in to see what happened to Newt and the Captain. And on that level, it delivers. It provides closure that the books often refuse to give.
How to Approach the Series Today
If you’re going to dive back into this world, do yourself a favor: don't watch it immediately after finishing the original. You need a "palate cleanser." If you go straight from Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall into this, the shift in tone will give you whiplash.
Instead, wait a month. Let the original settle in your mind. Then, treat this as a standalone Western adventure that happens to feature some characters with familiar names.
Actionable Ways to Enjoy the Lonesome Dove Saga:
- Watch by Production Order, Not Timeline: Start with the 1989 original, then watch Return. Save the prequels like Dead Man's Walk for later. It’s easier to appreciate the evolution of the TV production that way.
- Focus on the Technicals: Pay attention to the horse work. The 90s was one of the last eras where they used massive, real herds of horses and cattle without relying on CGI. The "Mustang" sequences in this sequel are legitimately impressive.
- Compare the "Calls": It’s a fun acting exercise to watch Tommy Lee Jones, Jon Voight, James Garner (in Streets of Laredo), and Karl Urban (in Comanche Moon) all play the same man at different ages. Each brings something totally different to Woodrow Call’s repressed psyche.
- Ignore the Canon Conflicts: Don't try to make the plot of Return fit with Streets of Laredo. You can't. Just accept that there are two different timelines for these characters and enjoy the ride.
The Western genre is about myth-making. The original Lonesome Dove is the peak of that myth. Return to Lonesome Dove is the flawed, messy, but ultimately entertaining attempt to keep that fire burning just a little bit longer. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a damn fine way to spend a rainy Sunday if you're missing the trail.