The numbers that Yellowstone has pulled in are impressive by any known metric. Roku allows access to a wide variety of titles from TV history and tends to do well promoting legacy programs like Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show, as well as long-running titles like Blue Bloods and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. When taking into account that Yellowstone also managed to surpass streaming exclusives like Max’s The Penguin and Prime Video’s Fallout, it has become more than evident that the Dutton family's in-fighting has become essential to a fairly significant portion of American households.
The spotlight on Yellowstone may have been brighter this year due to the increased level of controversy surrounding its star, Kevin Costner. Costner’s name was one of the primary reasons that the series took off in the first place, as the notion that the star of Dances With Wolves and Field of Dreams would be appearing on a cable television series with a largely unknown supporting cast was fairly significant. Although Costner’s work on Yellowstone earned him better reviews than he had received in years, he left the show due to a series of creative differences about the direction of his character.
However, it appears that Yellowstone has reached a level of popularity that has surpassed even Costner. He attempted to cash in on his newfound acclaim by financing his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga, an epic Western about the evolution of an American town during the Manifest Destiny period. The film was financed by Costner himself, and was so long that he divided it into two parts; he aims to soon begin filming parts 3 and 4. Unfortunately, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 bombed at the box office when it debuted last June. The film was such a calamity for Warner Brothers that the second chapter, originally slated for release in August, was removed from the calendar of upcoming titles.
The Taylor Sheridan Empire
If Costner isn’t the star of Yellowstone, then who is? It would be none other than Taylor Sheridan, the writer and showrunner who has become one of the highest-paid creatives in Hollywood in less than a decade. Sheridan broke out when his screenplay for Sicario was turned into an excellent crime epic from the future Dune director, Denis Villenueve. The following year, his script for the neo-Western Hell or High Water earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.Although Sheridan later stepped into the director’s chair for the Alaskan mystery Wind River and the firefighter action flick Those Who Wish Me Dead, most of his attention has been focused on expanding Yellowstone’s domination on streaming. The core series is still running on cable, but Sheridan has found a home at Paramount Pictures and has no shortage of original shows that have been airing on the streaming platform Paramount Plus.
Sheridan’s shows have a standard formula to them: cast a well-known star, give them an interesting profession and cram in a good deal of crime, intrigue, violence and dark humor. Currently, Sheridan has Tim McGraw defending Fort Worth in 1883, Jeremy Renner battling political opponents in Mayor of Kingstown, Sylvester Stallone taking on the mafia in Tulsa King, Harrison Ford surviving Prohibition in 1923, and David Oyelowo tracking down criminals in Lawman: Bass Reeves. This year also saw the return of the espionage thriller Lioness, as well as the debut of Billy Bob Thornton as an oil company fixer in Landman.
Sheridan’s shows have certainly weathered controversy. Landman received blowback for a controversial storyline regarding fossil fuel, and Lioness has been accused of promoting a pro-military agenda. Sheridan has managed to keep his personal politics under wraps, but it is impossible to deny that his programming has remained highly popular with right-wing viewers. But it's hard to imagine anything overtly sinister in Sheridan’s intentions. His shows are so ridiculous, anarchic and genuinely unpredictable that some viewers just watch with their jaws hanging open to see what could possibly happen next.
North Texans Aren’t Happy About a New Yellowstone Spinoff
Although many of Sheridan’s shows have elicited strong reactions from the moment that their pilots aired, the next show he has developed for Paramount Plus is already stirring up controversy before its release. The Madison, a new spinoff set to debut next year, has been filming in Fort Worth and causing significant road closures.It’s not a huge surprise that Sheridan would want to shoot in the area — he owns a ranch in Guthrie, about 200 miles away. However, skeptics on Reddit have raised concerns that closures have been held during rush hour, leading to major delays. It’s also fairly concerning that Sheridan is already starting up on another show when he hasn’t bothered finishing up so many others yet. Do viewers really need a fifth spinoff when Yellowstone has yet to air its finale?
Shooting in Fort Worth is even more confounding considering the loose details that are known about The Madison. The series stars Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer as the matriarch of a New York City family that relocates to Montana. Although The Madison appears to be pitched as more of a soap opera than a Western epic, it seems odd that Sheridan would try to pass off Fort Worth for New York. Is it really that hard to shoot in the Big Apple? New York is home to thousands of productions each year, including hit shows like The Gilded Age and Severance.
The Madison does appear to have some potential; the impressive supporting cast includes Matthew Fox of Lost fame, and there are rumors that Kurt Russell could be involved. Considering that the depiction of female characters in Sheridan’s body of work has drawn a mixed reception, centering a new series around an icon like Pfeiffer can’t be a bad thing.
That said, why can't Sheridan make a Dallas-based show? The guy clearly loves Westerns, barbecue and football, and has certainly managed to form a connection with Texas viewers. Perhaps even the Fort Worth residents irritated by Sheridan’s shooting schedule would be willing to cut him a little more slack if he managed to give the area some credit.
