1883 star Sam Elliott shook up fans of his own show with his thoughts about Yellowstone, the beloved neo-Western.
The guy who plays Shea Brennan, the cowboy who helped lead the Dutton family to Montana, threw some shade at Yellowstone. He did so by invoking geography and a 1980s soap opera. Now, that’s a dig.
“I’m not a Yellowstone fan. I don’t watch Yellowstone,” Elliott said during an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. “I love (Kevin) Costner. There are a lot of good people on the cast, a few of them I’ve worked with before. Nothing against any of them, but it’s just too much like f—ing Dallas or something, for me.”
Dallas was the classic prime-time soap featuring J.E. Ewing (Larry Hagman) and his family. The Ewings dominated the oil and gas business in Texas. They also lived at Southfork Ranch. So maybe Elliott was correct. Yellowstone is a present-day Dallas, but with different geography. The deliciously evil J.R. would take a sip of his bourbon and branch and calmly rain hell on his enemies. Does he sound like Costner’s John Dutton? The two patriarchs only wanted what’s best for the families, right?
What 1883 star Sam Elliott said about Yellowstone just didn’t sit well with the passionate fan base. The comment even became a topic on Reddit. Truth be told, some fans agreed with Elliott. And there were others who loved both shows. After all, 1883 is a prequel, telling the story of how the Duttons got to Montana. Yellowstone picks up the story generations later.
“To each their own. I love it,” wrote one Reddit user, going into the pro-Yellowstone category.
Another wrote: “I have been a fan of Sam Elliot forever, but his comments lately have been disappointing. Now he really needs to shut his mouth. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Do you think he would’ve said this before his characters death? I don’t think so.” (We should’ve said SPOILER alert. Shea Brennan killed himself at the end of the 1883 finale.)
Still another posted: “Very strange thing to say — not even sure why exactly you’d respond like this. It’s fair if he doesn’t like the show of course and he’s free to be honest about how he feels…but it definitely seems like a bit of an over the top response.”
There was some mixed reaction from some Yellowstone/1883 fence-sitters.
“I watched 1883 first,” wrote a pro-1883 fan. “I haven’t decided whether or not I like Yellowstone (I just started it) but I think the comparison with Dallas is apt.”
Then there were the Sam Elliott fans who applaud anything he says.
“I saw a few interviews with him and got the impression he is so old now he has no reason to hold anything back,” wrote an Elliott fan. (He) “gave a clear wgaf vibe.”