Bat Masterson is currently streaming in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. 3 seasons in, and the quality has not slipped. 15 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Gene Barry leads a cast that never overplays its hand. Start it on Amazon Prime Video whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

There is a reason Bat Masterson keeps coming up in conversation. Bat Masterson trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black-and-white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions, the company responsible for such hit series as Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol. The performances from Gene Barry give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. Across 3 seasons (1958–1961), it never lost the thread that made it worth starting. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Bat Masterson is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. Fans of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman will recognise the sensibility here immediately. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch if your schedule allows. Gene Barry is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.

Bat Masterson wrapped up in 1961 — and 3 seasons are available to watch from start to finish. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.