Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan launched a sharp critique of television critics and network executives during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast on Monday.
Speaking from his ranch in Wyoming, the 56-year-old producer explained his storytelling philosophy and recent network transitions.
Sheridan said he deliberately made choices for the first season of his Paramount+ series Landman, such as keeping actress Demi Moore mostly in the background, knowing it would provoke reviewers.
"The critics are going to come after me: 'I'm underutilizing [Moore], can't write for women'—all this nonsense.
Then I'm going to kill your husband and you're going to have to run the oil company," he said.
Sheridan stated he remains indifferent to external reviews.
"The critics and me… I don't care what they think and it annoys the s--t out of them that I don't care," he added.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Sheridan recently moved from Paramount to a contract with NBC Universal after refusing to make his television programs "overtly political."
The creator also expressed frustration with corporate interference, specifically noting his dislike for "endless rewrites."
Sheridan argued that the modern corporate structure of entertainment companies lacks genuine creative expertise, comparing today's environment unfavorably to past eras of filmmaking.
"It didn't used to be this way when Steve McQueen was a movie star at Paramount and Bobby Evans ran the studio because writers were turned loose.
Directors were turned completely loose. There weren't endless rewrites," he said.
He questioned the professional background of development executives. "Or maybe they studied law or whatever.
Then they came and they got a job in the mailroom at CAA or WME and hated that s--t.
So, then they ended up as an intern at some network. Then through attrition, they find themselves the head of development.
Well, what do you know about developing story? You know nothing," Sheridan said.
Reflecting on his transition from acting to writing, Sheridan noted his desire to "simply not do what everyone else was doing."
He asserted that mainstream projects frequently bypass traditional structural guidelines.
"What everyone else was doing was taking shortcuts, essentially breaking all the very basic fundamental rules of storytelling, because they couldn't figure out their story," he said.
Sheridan emphasized the primary purpose of visual media. "With a movie, you're supposed to show me what's happening.
The camera is supposed to move the story.
The dialogue is supposed to tell me how the people in this world feel about what's happening," he said.
He also singled out Marvel cinematic releases for failing to drive narratives through action, calling them "information dumps that you have to follow to get to the action."
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan made it clear that commercial awards are not his primary motivation.
"I'm not trying to win Emmys," he said.
