Lonesome Dove: the right order to watch the saga, from Dead Man's Walk to Streets of Laredo

The chronological order (recommended)

This is the order the story actually happens in, following Texas Rangers Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call from their youth through old age:

• Dead Man's Walk (1996, 3 episodes) — set in the 1840s. Young Gus and Call join their first Ranger expedition and face the Comanche war chief Buffalo Hump. Stars David Arquette and Jonny Lee Miller.
• Comanche Moon (2008, 3 episodes) — set in the 1850s–60s. Gus and Call serve under Captain Inish Scull. Stars Steve Zahn and Karl Urban.
• Lonesome Dove (1989, 4 episodes) — set in the mid-to-late 1870s. The original and the best. Retired Rangers Gus and Call drive a cattle herd from Texas to Montana. Stars Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Won seven Emmys.
• Return to Lonesome Dove (1993, 4 episodes) — set in the mid-to-late 1880s. The cattle drive continues under new circumstances. Stars Jon Voight and Rick Schroder.
• Streets of Laredo (1995, 3 episodes) — set in the early 1890s. An aging Captain Call is hired to track a young Mexican bandit preying on the railroad. Stars James Garner.

Publication/production order

The books were published differently: Lonesome Dove (1985), Streets of Laredo (1993), Dead Man's Walk (1995), Comanche Moon (1997). The miniseries followed a similar jumble.

Which order is better?

Most fans recommend chronological order for a first watch. It gives you the full sweep of the characters' lives, from greenhorn Rangers to weary legends. That said, some purists argue you should start with the original 1989 Lonesome Dove — it's the strongest entry, and everything else was written after it. If you go that route, watch Lonesome Dove first, then jump to Dead Man's Walk and continue chronologically through Streets of Laredo.

Either way, the saga adds up to roughly 17 episodes and about 25 hours of viewing.