City Primeval” is an unecessary but good sequel show

Raylan Givens is back. 

It’s been eight years since the neo-noir Western crime drama Justified” ended its six-season run on FX in 2015 with Timothy Olyphant as Givens, a modern-day cowboy with his own unorthodox brand of justice enforced in his home stomping grounds of Harlan, Ky.

In the new limited series “Justified: City Primeval” (Tuesday at 10 p.m. on FX and Wednesdays on Hulu, there’s plenty for fans of the original show to dig into.

But if you missed the first incarnation of “Justified,” “City Primeval” stands on its own without much confusion, since it’s an isolated story set outside of Kentucky with no obscure side characters or plotlines from the original series.

The series begins with Raylan driving across Florida to bring his teen daughter Willa (Vivian Olyphant, Timothy’s real-life daughter) to a disciplinary summer camp. 

His journey is immediately waylaid by two wannabe criminals, leading him to testify about what happened at a hearing in Detroit.

There, Judge Guy (Keith David) and lawyer Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis) are unimpressed by Raylan’s attitude (and his tactics, which includes rough treatment of the thugs). 

Nevertheless, Judge Guy ropes Raylan into sticking around Detroit for longer than planned, to work with the Detroit PD on a task force that’s investigating a recent murder attempt against the judge.  

Soon, the case becomes more complicated, involving this show’s villain, Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) — aka “The Oklahoma Wildman” — as well as musician/bar owner/drug dealer Sweety (Vondie Curtis-Hall). 

“Justified” fans who enjoyed Raylan’s interactions in the original with his nemesis Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) will miss their interplay in “City Primeval,” making it seem that there’s something missing from the sequel series.

That being said Clement Manshell (Holbrook) is an inspired addition to the “Justified” world and is a new and worthy adversary who holds his own against Raylan.

There’s no replacing a character actor like Goggins, but Holbrook – who’s played a bevy of bad guys in “Logan,” “The Sandman” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” — is a magnetic screen presence, and a pro at playing a certain brand of violent criminal who seems like he was born in a dive bar.   

“City Primeval” is the kind of show that made you wonder, “Who asked for this?” 

“Justified” had a good ending, and this new limited series is essentially Raylan in an entirely new setting populated by new people. However, it’s hard to deny that it’s enjoyable watching Raylan onscreen again. He’s a fun character to follow, and Olyphant infuses him with gruff charm, turning “City Primeval” into a gritty and engrossing crime drama that delivers the goods.