Many conservatives loved Paramount’s hit show, “Yellowstone,” because it seemed like something of a conservative show. Even if there were woke elements to it, particularly the plotlines regarding the “oppressed” Indians near the ranch, it celebrated masculinity and defending one’s land from outsiders and invaders, values not typically championed in mainstream, woke society.
But the creator of the show doesn’t want you to thing that way about it. In an interview with the Atlantic released in that publication’s December 2022 Issue, the creator of Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan, rejected the idea that
“They refer to it as ‘the conservative show’ or ‘the Republican show’ or ‘the red-state Game of Thrones.’ And I just sit back laughing. I’m like, ‘Really?’ The show’s talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West and land-grabbing. That’s a red-state show?”
Well, just months after he said that about the hit show, it’s reportedly drawing to a close because Sheridan and Costner are butting heads and the network wants to move to spinoffs. We reported as much on the American Tribune yesterday, saying:
Paramount’s Wild West drama “Yellowstone” has been a roaring success that propelled show creator Taylor Sheridan into the public eye, but reports indicate that star actor Kevin Costner may soon be done with the franchise.
A Deadline report says that the duo of Paramount and Sheridan are planning to end the story of Yellowstone in a spectacular way, before transitioning into even more spinoffs than have already been aired. One such spinoff has even been rumored to include Matthew McConaughey.
A Paramount Network spokesperson gave a statement to Deadline in which they seemed unwilling to confirm or deny the report, saying:
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“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come. Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”
Allegedly, scheduling conflicts have begun to cause a rift between Costner and Sheridan, as the actor has reportedly only made himself available for one week of shooting for the upcoming wave of episodes. Given his role as the leader of the Yellowstone Ranch, this could be problematic, if true.
What Deadline does seem sure of, is the impending McConaughey introduction to the Yellowstone universe
In any case, the Atlantic interview wasn’t the first time that Sheridan attacked the idea of Yellowstone being a red-state show. He had said much the same thing about Yellowstone in a 2019 New York Times interview, saying:
“People perceive all my stuff as red state, and it’s the most ridiculous thing. If you truly look at this show or Wind River or Sicario, these are pretty wildly progressive notions. The people who are calling it a red-state show have probably never watched it.”
He added that “But I’m not just going to show you one side. I’m going to show you all sides. I happen to think a Native American trying to buy back the land that was stolen from his people, like Gil Birmingham’s tribal-leader character is doing on the show, is historically pretty progressive. And it’s not a fantasy. That is happening.”
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1