# Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958)

> A laconic bounty hunter drifts across the 19th-century American West, taking one dangerous case after another.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/12896

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 94
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: western, action, drama
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Steve McQueen, Kenneth Tobey, Richard Arlen, Stafford Repp, Russ Bender, Charles Cooper, Jay North, J. Carrol Naish
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051327/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: laconic, taut, nostalgic, understated

## Synopsis

Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961) is an American Western television series created by Four Star Television for CBS. Steve McQueen stars as bounty hunter Josh Randall, a quiet, sharp-eyed drifter who rides through the 19th-century American frontier collecting rewards on outlaws who have fled the law. Each episode is a self-contained case of the week, with Randall tracking a wanted man into saloons, desert towns and rugged backcountry, where he must read a stranger's intentions and decide quickly whether a bounty is worth the danger. Over three seasons the series runs on a steady rhythm of stakeouts, standoffs and tense confrontations rather than long serial arcs, which makes it an easy entry point for viewers new to the form. Shot in black and white, the show carries the restrained, clipped style of studio-era television, with McQueen's understated menace giving the show its distinctive weight. It was spun off from a Trackdown episode starring Robert Culp, and fans of Have Gun - Will Travel and Maverick will find the same lone-hero frontier pleasures here, delivered with a cool, economical edge.

## Shows like Wanted: Dead or Alive

- [Bonanza (1959)](https://ember.film/tv/955)
- [Gunsmoke (1955)](https://ember.film/tv/3534)
- [Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/3589)
- [The High Chaparral (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/10326)
- [Laramie (1959)](https://ember.film/tv/12952)
- [Alias Smith and Jones (1971)](https://ember.film/tv/3116)
- [The Rifleman (1958)](https://ember.film/tv/12916)
- [Renegade (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/566)
- [Streets of Laredo (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/41112)
- [Laredo (1965)](https://ember.film/tv/6532)

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