The fifth season of the American

neo-Western The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referre ...

television series '' Justified'' premiered on January 7, 2014, on FX, and concluded on April 8, 2014, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by

Graham Yost Graham John Yost (born September 5, 1959) is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. His best-known works are the films ''Speed'', '' Broken Arrow'', and '' Hard Rain'' and the TV series '' Justified''. Early life, family and education Yo ...

based on

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

's novels ''Pronto'' and ''

Riding the Rap ''Riding the Rap'' is a 1995 crime fiction novel by Elmore Leonard. It is the sequel to Leonard's ''Pronto'', released in 1993. Synopsis Like ''Pronto'', ''Riding the Rap'' centers around Harry Arno, World War II veteran and bookie, now 67 yea ...

'' and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is

Raylan Givens Raylan Givens is a fictional character created by American novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard. Givens is a Deputy U.S. Marshal and initially appeared in the novels ''Pronto'' and ''Riding the Rap''. (''Pronto'' was adapted as a TV movie in ...

, a deputy

U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...

Timothy Olyphant Timothy David Olyphant ( ; born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in an off-Broadway theater in 1995, in ''The Monogamist'', and won the Theatre World Award for his performance, and then originated David Sedaris' ''Th ...

portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, and the hill country of

eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, specifically in and around

Harlan Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname *Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive *Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver *Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician *Byron G ...

. The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on December 2, 2014.

Cast and characters

Main

, a suave deputy

U.S. marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...

who becomes tangled up with the Crowe family when they move to

. *

Nick Searcy Nicholas Alan Searcy (born March 7, 1959) is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's '' Justified''. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries ''From the ...

as Art Mullen, the

chief deputy Chief Deputy is a rank/title used in American/Canadian law enforcement. The position of chief deputy is primarily found within sheriff's offices throughout the United States, and also exists for marshals’ police departments as well as constables� ...

of Lexington's marshals office whose relationship with Raylan frays. *

Jere Burns Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...

as Wynn Duffy, a volatile and dangerous

Dixie Mafia The Dixie Mafia or Dixie Mob is an American criminal organization composed mainly of white Southerners and based in Biloxi, Mississippi, operating primarily throughout the Southern United States since at least the late 1960s. The group's activitie ...

enforcer who goes into business moving

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

with Boyd. *

Joelle Carter Joelle Marie Carter (born October 10, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for playing Ava Crowder in the FX series '' Justified''. Early life Carter was born in Thomasville, Georgia. Her father, Jimmy,a murder she committed is discovered. *

Jacob Pitts Jacob Rives Pitts (born November 20, 1979) is an American television, film and stage actor. His most notable performances were as Cooper Harris in the film '' EuroTrip'' (2004), as Bill "Hoosier" Smith in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'' (2010 ...

as Tim Gutterson, a Lexington deputy marshal. *

Erica Tazel Erica Tazel (born 1977) is an American theatre and television actress best known for the role of US Deputy Marshall Rachel Brooks in the FX television series '' Justified'' (2010–2015). Life and career Tazel holds a B.A. from Spelman College a ...

as Rachel Brooks, a Lexington deputy marshal. *

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), ''Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

as Boyd Crowder, Raylan's intelligent nemesis who is split between trying to get Ava out of prison and selling heroin in Harlan.

Recurring

Guest

Adam Arkin Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American actor and director. He is known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on '' Chicago Hope''. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony (Best Actor, 1991, ''I Hate Hamlet'') as well ...

as Theo Tonin, the former head of the Detroit Mob who seeks revenge after a murder. *

Jeremy Davies Jeremy Davies (né Boring; born October 8, 1969) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Ray Aibelli in ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), Corporal Upham in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Snow in ''Solaris'' (2002), Bil ...

as Dickie Bennett, the last of the criminal Bennett family who is left

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

after being shot by Raylan. *

Kaitlyn Dever Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (; born December 21, 1996) is an American actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the FX crime drama television series '' Justified'' (2011–2015), the ABC/Fox sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021), the Net ...

as Loretta McCready, a teenage associate of Raylan's who has begun selling marijuana to Hot Rod. *

Max Perlich Max Perlich (born March 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor. In 1990, Perlich won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film ''Drugstore Cowboy'' and was nominated for the same ...

as Sammy Tonin, the head of the Detroit Mob who is in debt to a group of Canadian criminals. *

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...

as Alex Miller, a Memphis

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

agent who has a long history with Hot Rod.

Production

On March 28, 2013, FX renewed ''Justified'' for a fifth season, which premiered on January 7, 2014.

Casting

, who has recurred throughout the first four seasons as Wynn Duffy was made a series regular.

Filming

Episodes were shot in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The small town of Green Valley, California often doubles for

Harlan, Kentucky Harlan is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,745 at the 2010 census, down from 2,081 at the 2000 census. Harlan is one of three Kentucky county seats to share its name w ...

Episodes

Reception

Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the season has an approval rating of 96% with an average score of 8 out of 10 based on 28 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Justified'' continues to bring the shock value with clever storylines and a potent blend of comedy and drama." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the season has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim.

Accolades

received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the

4th Critics' Choice Television Awards The 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), honored the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014, and was held on June 19, 2014, at Th ...

. Production designer

Dave Blass David "Dave" Blass is an American production designer and art director. Work For his work on the '' Justified'' television series Blass was nominated for the 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series f ...

, art director Oana Bogdan and decorator Shauna Aronson were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Contemporary or Fantasy Series (Single-Camera) for the episode "A Murder of Crowes".

References

External links

* {{JustifiedTV 05 2014 American television seasons