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Though it may appear that Taylor Sheridan and his famed Yellowstone franchise are among the biggest the television world has seen, the actor-turned-writer had to go through his fair share of drama before landing a sweet deal that would immortalize his image in Hollywood. A rather impactless actor in his prime, Sheridan could once be considered a Hollywood semi-reject. Sheridan, however, was destined for larger things.
Sheridan admitted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he lacked the charisma of more successful performers, but that his writing helped him break through in Hollywood. He discussed the challenges of creating a show like Yellowstone and his relentless pursuit of success.
Sheridan wrote three films that put him on the map of fame, Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River, something he referred to as his "modern American frontier" trilogy.
This eventually led him to Yellowstone, where he had to pull off some incredibly hard choices and a complete no-compromise policy to make it work. Speaking about how he treated the show and the production, Sheridan recalled:
"I spent the first 37 years of my life compromising,...When I quit acting, I decided that I am going to tell my stories my way, period. If you don’t want me to tell them, fine. Give them back and I’ll find someone who does — or I won’t, and then I’ll read them in some freaking dinner theater. But I won’t compromise....You write a thing and it costs what it costs. I will not change a script to meet a budget."
In the interview, he also covered the time when he did not become "the" Taylor Sheridan, along with the challenges that came with making such a unique show.
"Because it has cowboys and this is supposed to be a dead genre, right?"- Taylor Sheridan on Paramount's Rise after Yellowstone
Now it seems like Yellowstone is one of the greatest television shows of our era. But years back, no one was ready to accept this John Dutton odyssey with ranches and cowboys. After unsuccessful negotiations with HBO, Taylor Sheridan looked elsewhere for a home for his show.
Of course, that too was a difficult process. But ultimately, the niche channel Paramount agreed to produce it, despite Sheridan's warnings about a high budget and no creative control.
But it was meant to work out. It always was. Once the show premiered, Paramount's ratings exploded in an unforeseen manner. Sheridan said:
"People couldn’t understand how a linear cable channel that no one can even find suddenly had the biggest show on television...Because it has cowboys and this is supposed to be a dead genre, right? Of course, that’s not what the show is really about, that’s just the sugar on the pill."
It turned out that what was once considered challenging for Yellowstone became its biggest saving grace. It became a show about the dying ways of American life.
It shot Taylor Sheridan and everyone involved in the project to great heights, and right now, as the future of the show dangles in the air, millions are waiting for a verdict.
It is fair to say Taylor Sheridan did not have to compromise on this part of his life. Whatever happens next, Yellowstone will remain one of the greatest television shows of our time.
