Quentin Tarantino is very open when it comes to the movies he enjoys and recommends, but he has also shared his admiration for different TV shows. Quentin Tarantino has earned a place among the most respected filmmakers of his generation, though he’s also one of the most controversial ones. Tarantino’s works have been praised for his writing style, unique way of writing dialogue, their characters, and more, and part of his trademark is adding generous doses of violence and blood to each of his movies. While Tarantino has succeeded on the big screen, he has also left his mark on TV.

Tarantino is very open about his love for movies and has extensive knowledge of a variety of genres and styles, but he has also shared some of the TV shows that have caught his attention the most. Tarantino has ventured into TV a couple of times and in different roles, such as directing episodes of ER and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and turning his own movie into a miniseries as he did with The Hateful Eight. There are some TV shows that have left a mark on Tarantino, either at a personal or professional level, encouraging others to check them out.

8

Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke Ran From 1955 To 1975

Gunsmoke is a radio and TV Western drama, created by Norman Macdonnell and John Meston, with the TV show developed by Charles Marquis Warren. Gunsmoke is set in Dodge City, Kansas, in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The show follows U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) and his deputies Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver) and Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis) as they protect the town’s citizens. Conflict in most episodes is triggered by outsiders, while other episodes focus on Dillon’s travels and what happens when he’s not in town.

Tarantino has cited Gunsmoke as an inspiration for his Westerns, especially The Hateful Eight, with Samuel L. Jackson’s character named after Warren. Tarantino also told Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s cinematographer, Robert Richardson, to watch Gunsmoke to get an idea of the style they were going for, and the show was referenced throughout the movie (via Uproxx).

7

Bonanza

Bonanza Ran From 1959 To 1973

Bonanza is a Western TV series created by David Dortort. Set in the 1860s, Bonanza follows the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada. Leading the family is Ben (Lorne Greene), along with his three sons: Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric (Dan Blocker), and Joe (Michael Landon). Bonanza, then, follows their weekly adventures, focusing on the Cartwrights’ dynamics, as well as those with their neighbors and the people closest to them.

Like Gunsmoke, Bonanza was a huge inspiration for Tarantino’s Westerns, mostly The Hateful Eight. According to Outsider, Tarantino took inspiration from those times in Bonanza where the bad guys took over the ranches, and so the main characters found themselves trapped in the same place as the villains – and this is pretty much what happens in The Hateful Eight (and Reservoir Dogs).

6

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Ran From 2000 To 2015

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a procedural drama created by Anthony E. Zuiker. The show follows a team of crime scene investigators from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as they solve different crimes. Leading the team at the beginning of CSI was Dr. Gil Grissom (William Petersen), but the team’s leadership and many of its members changed throughout the show’s 15 seasons. The success of CSI made way for a franchise with different spinoffs.

Tarantino has a direct connection to CSI as he directed the two-part episode “Grave Danger”, from the show’s 15th season. “Grave Danger” is regarded as one of the best CSI episodes ever, and this was in large part thanks to Tarantino being familiar with the show. Speaking to Today in 2005, Tarantino shared that directing these episodes wasn’t a challenge because he liked the show, and he felt like he was making a CSI movie.

5

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother Ran From 2005 To 2014

Quentin Tarantino also has room on his list of recommended TV shows for sitcoms, especially How I Met Your Mother. Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, How I Met Your Mother follows Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) as he tells his teenage children the story of, well, how he met their mother. The show goes back to Ted’s late 20s, following him and his best friends Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and Robin (Cobie Smulders) as they do their best to navigate adulthood in New York City.

Speaking to MTV in 2012, Tarantino said that his favorite TV show is, “hands down”, How I Met Your Mother, and it’s the show he always keeps watching. How I Met Your Mother isn’t a show that has influenced Tarantino’s movies, and it’s simply the one he enjoys and rewatches the most.

4

The Newsroom

The Newsroom Ran From 2012 To 2014

The Newsroom is a political drama TV series created by Aaron Sorkin. The Newsroom takes the audience behind the scenes at the fictional Atlantis Cable News, where it follows anchor and News Night managing editor, Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels). Accompanying McAvoy are his executive producer, MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), newsroom staff Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.), Maggie Jordan (Allison Pill), Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn), Neal Sampat (Dev Patel), and Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski), along with the head of ACN, Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston).

In the above-mentioned interview with MTV, Tarantino also shared his love for The Newsroom, praising Sorkin’s writing and calling it “exciting.” In a 2015 interview with Variety, Tarantino spoke about The Newsroom once more, saying it’s the only show he watched three times so he could listen to the dialogue one more time.

3

Yellowstone

Yellowstone Ran From 2018 To 2024

Perhaps unsurprisingly by now, there’s another Western among Tarantino’s recommendations: Yellowstone. Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, Yellowstone is a neo-Western drama TV show centered on the Dutton family, the owners of the largest cattle ranch in Montana: the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. The show follows the conflicts between the Dutton family, the bordering land developers, a Native American reservation, and Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone spawned a franchise with two prequel series and two upcoming sequel shows.

Speaking at The Joe Rogan Experience in 2024, Tarantino shared he watched Yellowstone and was caught up in it, praising Sheridan’s writing, though he also used it as an example of how TV shows nowadays lack payoff and introduce too many characters with connections to each other. Still, that doesn’t make Yellowstone any less great.

2

The Haunting Of Hill House

The Haunting Of Hill House Was Released In 2018

Tarantino’s TV recommendations have some room for horror, all thanks to The Haunting of Hill House. Created by Mike Flanagan and based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name, The Haunting of Hill House follows the Crain family – parents Hugh and Olivia, and their children Steven, Shirley, Theo, Luke, and Nell – who, in the summer of 1992, move into Hill House to renovate it and sell it. However, a series of paranormal incidents lead to a tragic loss, and they have to flee.

26 years later, the Crain siblings and their father reunite after another family tragedy, and they must confront how their past experiences in Hill House have permanently affected them. In 2020, Tarantino shared that he had been watching a lot of Netflix, and his favorite series “with no compeтιтion” was The Haunting of Hill House (via The Jerusalem Post).

1

The Queen’s Gambit

The Queen’s Gambit Was Released In 2020

The Queen’s Gambit is a coming-of-age period drama miniseries created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott. Based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name, The Queen’s Gambit takes the audience back to the 1950s and 1960s to meet Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a chess prodigy struggling with emotional problems and substance-use disorder, as she rises to the top of the chess world. As she continues to struggle with her substance use and more, Beth prepares to compete in a major international chess tournament.

Along with The Haunting of Hill House, The Queen’s Gambit is Tarantino’s favorite Netflix TV show, and he shared his praise for it in different interviews, including his visit to The Ringer’s Rewatchables podcast, where he described the show as a seven-hour movie thanks to its narrative quality and more.

Sources: Uproxx, Outsider, Today, MTV, Variety, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Jerusalem Post, The Ringer.