But there are several current series — set in as geographically and politically disparate locales as the rural back roads of Delaware County, Pa., and the city streets of Tulsa, Okla. — that have taken a different, more intriguing approach to the task of telling these stories. Together, these series’ creators have embraced an approach that’s very different from Mr. Sheridan’s, and that suggests a stronger command of this territory, in both theme and geography.