"Longmire" with Robert Taylor (2012)

I ran across this series in the library. I've never heard of it before; and it’s surprisingly well written and acted. A newly widowed Sheriff, Walt Longmire; played by Robert Taylor; along with his new deputy, Vic Moretti, a woman from Chicago;  played by Katee Sackhoff;  are confronted by every sort of crime imaginable in Absaroka County, Wyoming. And, surprisingly, there is a lot of crime.

Saddled with a deputy Sheriff named Branch, who aspires to replace him, the Sheriff has to navigate not only the crime scenes, but also the ambitions of his colleague. His drinking is not helpful. And his daughter is very pre-occupied with getting her dad back on the dating scene, while the sheriff still keeps his wife's ashes on the mantelpiece. All of this does not help with his drinking.

Aided by an Indian friend, Henry; played by Lou Diamond Phillips; who owns the Red Pony, a local restaurant; he also has to straddle the two worlds which comprise parts of Absaroka County. That is, he must deal not only with crime in the white world, but must also find ways to elicit the cooperation of the Police on the Indian Reservation. To that end, his friendship with the Lou Diamond Phillips character is essential.

From murder and drug cartels, to everything else imaginable in a big city, County Sheriff Longmire must solve these crimes without the help of big crime labs and forensics. He has to use his skills as a human being; along with some common sense; in order to keep the peace in his corner of Wyoming.

Beautifully filmed, credibly acted and well written, the series is a real sleeper.