TOMATOMETER
Critic Consensus: Deadwood's final season ends with a frustrating lack of closure, but that ambiguous final note doesn't detract from an outstanding series that ranks among the best the genre has to offer.
AUDIENCE SCORE
Episodes
As the third season opens, Bullock and Swearengen begin to realize their common interests with the powerful George Hearst in town.
MoreAs the elections loom, Hearst gets violent with Swearengen and Alma's pregnancy complications worsen.
MoreSeveral newcomers arrive in camp as Hearst continues to wield his power without reservation.
MoreAs the bank opens for business, Hearst furthers his machinations against Tolliver and Swearengen.
MoreDority's simmering feud with an imposing rival finally comes to a boil; Langrishe lays the groundwork for the new theater; Tolliver learns surprising news about Leon's latest customer; Steve's stubborn streak doesn't subside with his purchase of the livery.
MoreAunt Lou's son visits with news from Liberia and a business proposal for Hearst. Meanwhile, Bullock and Swearengen weigh their options regarding Hearst, and Tolliver learns of Alma's addiction.
MoreBullock makes a proposal for dealing with Hearst. Meanwhile, the Doc's health is in decline.
MoreWhen Wyatt Earp turns up in Deadwood under mysterious circumstances, Hearst teams with Tolliver to protect his interests.
MoreAs the camp joins for a talent show, Commissioner Jarry returns with a proposal for Hearst.
MoreHearst's men strike against Alma. Meanwhile, Joanie and Jane find solace with one another.
MoreDeadwood: season 3 Photos
Tv Season Info
Cast
as Sophia Metz
as Richardson
as Samuel Fields
as Claudia
as Chesterton
as Wyatt Earp
as Barrett
as Hawkeye
as Janine
as Jen
News & Interviews for Deadwood: season 3
Critic Reviews for Deadwood season 3
All Critics (24) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (1)
Despite being a decade or so older than the purported target audience, I certainly found this season difficult viewing - and certain scenes (not gratuitous but packed with emotional trauma) would doubtless be classed as "triggering".
Like most TV shows, it's shot well enough, and there are some incredible technicians behind the camera... But it's the language of the show that made it so beloved, and why it's one of the greats.
It's an upsetting way for such a wonderful series to end, but looking back on Deadwood as a whole is a reminder of how wonderful the show was and how much it has to offer to old and new viewers alike... even if we all wish there was more of it to see.
It's hard to imagine "Deadwood" with a different cast because the current cast makes up one of TV's best ensembles.
Nevertheless, it is a show that is deeply missed. Deadwood remains a key text in the canon of modern American television.
Deadwood is just littered with talent.
The magic isn't gone, it's just that the early fireworks are missing.
Buoyed by a top-flight cast newly augmented by Brian Cox as an old chum of Swearengen's, the show is rife with sly humor while presenting a glimpse of the West that extends beyond mere revisionism...
For all the artificiality of the language, there has seldom been a show that felt more authentic.
It's like saddling up and putting the spurs to a drunk Shetland pony.
Audience Reviews for Deadwood: season 3
What an absolute shame that the series had to end just like that. It sucks that it ends with Hearst winning every single thing. It also sucks that we didn't get the two 2 hour movies that were rumoured to be in the works at HBO. And it sucks that we never got a theatrical release of Deadwood. This was such a good show that had so much still to tell/resolve. How does the camp move on with the Pinkertons running the show, and Hearst owning all the gold claims, and Hearst starting a newspaper to spread his propaganda in response to the Pioneer, etc. It's a tough pill to swallow but swallow it they must... Hearst made sure of that. The plot lines and execution of the story was incredible in season 3. Milch really did a spectacular job of creating a town with so many different moving parts that functioned so well as a whole. Here's to hoping that someone will come to their senses and give Milch the opportunity to wrap up his gem of a series in a befitting manner like it deserves.
Bad ending to an otherwise great show.
This is for the whole series. I really do wish the series lasted more then three years, but then again maybe it would have declined and been a mockery of itself if it had. Set in the town of Deadwood in 1876 where it tells the tale of the town going from open frontier with gold strikes, and how the people living there got along. Fun side note, many of the characters in the series were there in real life (and by default are real people). No, it isn't a documentary, yes it is full of violence and sex (and let's be honest, it doesn't stay too close to the truth either). It starts with following Timothy Olyphant (of Justified fame) as he arrives in town. Then it truly becomes a full ensemble cast with Brad Dourif playing the Doc, Ian McShane playing Al Swearengen, Molly Parker as Alma Garrett and even Keith Carradine as the doomed Wild Bill Hickok. There are a ton of other famous or semi-famous actors and actresses you will see, but there are so many I can't really list them all. The show is as good as it sounds. The acting is superb. By the third season the actors play off each other with just a word or a motion. There was so much put into each character that you could read what they were thinking and they could sometimes have conversations with each other that were in depth without more then a few words. The filming was good, and the direction as well obviously. I am saddened that so many people have not seen it. I was especially impressed that rape didn't play a bigger role, after all that is what most westerns are unfortunately built upon. Not saying that some things didn't happen, but for what the show was (the Sopranos in the old west) it stayed away from that most of the time. The only thing I thought hurt the show was bringing in Powers Boothe and his whole crew. Not that there weren't good stories, and definitely not because of Mr. Boothe (he is great), but it took away from main characters in the beginning. While I started watching the show for Mr. Olyphant, I ended the show with Ian McShane (Swearengen) as my favorite character. Pros: Great acting, directing, story and sets. Cons: Perhaps too many secondary stories and plots and too many characters by mid-second season. Now to find some more Ian McShane work.
The cutting off of this show was so cruel and unfair. I still miss it. One of those rare televised pieces, where the main character is just one jewel in an entire diadem of glittering talent. This show had a lot of grit and a lot of heart too. I'm grateful it was on one time and I wish they continued it. Something tells me that it's probably due a rehash soon, and if they don't mess it up, it just might blow up Walking Dead style. I bloody well hope so at least.
90/100, or an A- By far the weakest of Deadwood's three seasons, suffering, in light of its expansion in scope, from a girth of plot-lines, not all of interest. A favorite characters like Doc. Cochran will have little to do but suppress lung disease in the background of an episode, while much time will be awarded to a frequently redundant conflict between a black livery owner and a racist drunk. That being said, this is Deadwood, so there's plenty of magnificent verbiage and heartwarming character beats to spare. As the protagonists are united in their attempt to ward off an unstoppable threat to the town, the community that has sprouted from a ramschackle mining camp becomes all too apparent. And it's fitting that it ends on a quiet note, several threads still up in the air, to emphasize that this is the story of a community's beginning, not its end.
Probably the best series I've ever seen. Very intelligent, great performances, great characters, great writing. Kind of guys show.
the dialogue is annoying after several episodes, they didn't have to go THAT far with it...
One of the best shows of all time.
One of the best series. Great characters and fantastic dialogue. Ian McShane's role as Al Swearengen created one of the great villains (or was he?) on TV. Pity the series could not be finished as creator David Milch wanted.
If it's the weakest season, it's only because the novelty began to wear off at this point, and it has an inconclusive ending. It's doubtful that the series will ever receive the movie deal it had been promised at this point, but fans can still find so much to savor in these three instantly-classic seasons.