Taylor Sheridan’s reign as TV’s godfather hit a controversial note with Yellowstone and Landman, leaving us fans debating his storytelling motives. You see, these weren’t just Western dramas; they doubled as megaphones for his conservative ideals.
Fans called it out — his women were either overly sexualized or conveniently sidelined, while his men bore the weight of the world (and a chip on their shoulders). Sheridan’s once-sharp narratives now seemed like thinly veiled agendas, proving unchecked creative power can lead to a chaotic narrative.
Taylor Sheridan’s shows: A cringe-filled ride to push conservative ideals
Taylor Sheridan has become a polarizing figure in the television industry. His shows, once applauded for good storytelling, now feel like vehicles for pushing conservative ideals. “It seems every show of his now exists for TS to push whatever his weird conservative views,” said one disgruntled fan, and it’s hard to disagree.
Take Landman. From the downright absurd daddy-daughter dynamics (“No, Daddy, I always make him c*m anywhere on my body, but never inside… I’m a good girl”) to the patronizing (“Real men don’t drink lattes; real men drink it black”), the series didn’t just flirt with cringe; it married it.
And heaven help if you dare call them bad lines — these are tone-deaf reflections of a much larger problem.
Also, Sheridan’s depiction of women has been extremely frustrating. In Yellowstone, female arcs seemed limited to three repetitive tropes: rape victims, pregnancy, or domestic violence. Lioness didn’t do much better. A 110-pound woman survived surgery after bleeding out, only to be flying planes the next day. Not even sure if this is some children’s playbook, where the grasp on realism is completely nonexistent.
And the plot holes? Man, they’re so big you could drive a truck through them and still have room to spare.
Governors were assassinated without police raising eyebrows. CIA agents kidnapped Americans, which is, you know, illegal. And somehow, Sheridan’s protagonists always owned a city’s police force, breezing into crime scenes like action figures in a twisted playset.
Then there’s the not-so-subtle nostalgia for a George W. Bush America. Sheridan doubled down with a lengthy monologue in Landman, delivered by none other than Morgan Freeman. The episode depicted less storytelling and more lecture.
But all of this narrows down to just one thing: conservative ideologies. And honestly, how come such outlandish, poorly written scripts became cultural juggernauts? It’s a wake-up call, folks. Maybe it’s time we stop buying into the hype and start seeing the forest for the trees.
Fans react: Taylor Sheridan’s shift from complex storytelling to absurd propaganda
Taylor Sheridan’s shows, like Tulsa King, Landman, and Kingstown, are absurdly entertaining, but that’s about all they’ve got going for them. If you’re not after anything intelligent, these shows serve up shallow propaganda wrapped in bad accents and ridiculous dialogue.
It’s frustrating to see how far Sheridan has fallen from the complexity of Wind River and Sicario. His newer work feels like a lazy attempt to cash in on cheap thrills, leaving the promise of depth behind and reducing his once-strong storytelling to a hollow spectacle.