Taylor Sheridan Wasn't Flattered By Hollywood Trying To Replicate Yellowstone's Success

If you've watched a Western TV show in the past eight years, there's a good chance its existence is tied to "Yellowstone." The success of Taylor Sheridan's flagship drama led to an explosion of imitators like "Ransom Canyon," "American Primeval," and more. With all the cowboys and cowgirls riding around right now, you'd be forgiven for losing track of which shows actually belong to the Taylor Sheridan-verse — titles like "Landman," "1883," and "The Madison" — and which are merely guests at the rodeo. But while they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sheridan isn't so sure.

"I don't know that it's flattering, because I don't think they're doing it because 'Yellowstone' is good," the multi-hyphenate told Variety in 2022 when asked about TV's westward expansion. "They're doing it because 15 million people watch ['Yellowstone']. And they're like: 'A lot of people watch Westerns. Let's make Westerns.'"

Despite Sheridan's hangups, the proverbial "they" are right about one thing: People really do love shows about ranches and vast open spaces — at least when Sheridan has his fingerprints on them. "Landman" made a strong showing in the first half of 2026, racking up 12.4 billion viewing minutes to rank as the fourth most streamed original series so far this year. The 2025-26 television season saw three Sheridan shows — "Marshals," "Landman," and "The Madison" — crack the top 25. 

Taylor Sheridan certainly isn't cosplaying as a rancher. Many of his shows, even the non-Western "Mayor of Kingstown," feature some sort of autobiographical element. The creator, who now primarily resides on his own sprawling ranch in Texas, is extremely committed to authenticity. "I'm deeply influenced by where I grew up and how I grew up," Sheridan told Texas Highways in 2020 of his childhood, which he spent on a 214-acre ranch in Texas. "When you write, it's always of an autobiographical nature. ... Our family ranch has informed 'Yellowstone' in many ways." 

It isn't just Sheridan's own background that makes his shows feel so lived in. He also runs a sort of ranch-hand bootcamp, colloquially known as "Cowboy Camp," where his actors can learn the ropes — often literally — of life on the farm. "We all do our best to get as good at it as we possibly can," Luke Grimes, who played Kayce Dutton in "Yellowstone," told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022. "At the end of the day, it really does add something onscreen when you can see an actor actually ride their horse."

This staunch dedication to veracity contributes to so much of Sheridan's success. In his own words from the same interview with Variety: "If I just tried to sit down and write it and Wikipedia some things, then it would have felt false, right?"