I can’t say I blame him for not wanting to do the whole Hollywood dog and pony show, so to speak… last night, Taylor Sheridan spoke at the premiere of his new series The Madison during the Jazz at Lincoln Center event.
You’ve likely heard that The Madison is expected to be some of Sheridan’s most intimate work. Or as Kurt Russell put it… “female gaze-oriented.” It will tell a story that explores grief and human connection, and as far as plot is concerned, the series revolves around the titular character of Stacy Clyburn (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), a wealthy matriarch who upends her life in New York City to move her and her family to Montana following a plane crash that kills her husband (played by Kurt Russell) and brother-in-law. Although, to be clear, the show is NOT being billed as a Yellowstone spinoff series, as previously thought.
And during the event yesterday, Sheridan got onstage and promptly told the crowd that he “can’t stand these things,” but he was there because he is “really proud of the project”:
“I can’t stand these things. So for me to be at one means I’m really proud of the project, which I am.”
I mean, I imagine mingling with the most elite in Hollywood isn’t exactly the most fun thing in the world simply due to all of the ego, but it is a bit of an odd way to start a speech to a bunch of people who are watching your show for the first time. Then again, Sheridan started his Yellowstone empire and subsequent shows because he didn’t follow the Hollywood formula, so he’s certainly earned the right to say whatever he wants…
He continued, saying that it’s incredibly hard to get anything made in Hollywood, even the “bad” shows and movies, and he thanked his wife Nicole for all of her support:
“Everyone in here’s either probably involved in this industry or followed it for a while and knows just how hard it is to get anything made in this business. Even bad ones are hard to make. And I don’t think we made a bad one. But I’d like to begin it by thanking my wife who believed in me when no one else did, including myself. Without her I’d just be the coolest acting coach in L.A. I’m really glad I’m not.”
Sheridan continued, speaking a little about the production process:
“Sometimes you have to leave a place to really know it and love it, a story of a family that has to leave it to learn to love it again. I don’t make anything. I write things down and then I bring together a cast and a crew and I ask them to go make it. And trucking cameras across rivers and up mountains. So I have a chance here to do what I don’t get to do often, which is call them out and thank them personally for their sacrifice and their commitment.”
Sheridan went on to shout out the show’s production designer, casting director, composer, editors, producers and more, saying they’ve all done a “wonderful job” and made the show what it is:
“They’ve done a wonderful job and I think you’ll see that on the screen. So now no one came here to listen to me. They want to see the movie stars. So I’m going to bring you some movie stars out.
But before I do that, with this project, I had to turn it over to one person and trust that one person to execute my vision and take this on. I’m a big believer that when you find a talent that understands your voice, you need to surrender to that talent…
Christina Voros directed every episode of [the] show. And she’s here tonight. I’d love to call her out on stage and let you guys show her your appreciation. I think you’ll see that she exceeded even my wildest expectations.”
Overall, it was a very gracious speech where he really put a spotlight on everyone involved who brought the show to life, but of course, that first line is what’s making headlines:
@varietymagazine Taylor Sheridan makes a rare public appearance at the #TheMadison ♬ original sound – Variety
Of course, there were some fans in the comments that were NOT loving that first remark especially, saying that he loves the attention and “always writes himself into being the coolest guy in the show,” which I’m assuming was pointed at his appearance in the Season 5, episode 13 of Yellowstone when he played horse trainer Travis Wheatley, and cast Bella Hadid as his girlfriend… which is just objectively hilarious.
But at the same time, writing yourself into a funny, obnoxious, caricature of a character, is a little different than flying to New York City, putting on a suit and having to give a speech about your latest show in front of a bunch of Hollywood folks and media. You can be very egotistical and still hate that whole ordeal.
Nevertheless, the comments section was giving it to him:
“I am losing interest with everything Taylor Sheridan! The writing gets weak and predictable!”
“Marshals is UNWATCHABLE. The plot SUCKS and the acting is beyond bad. Turned it off after 15 minutes.”
“I can’t stand these things “ but he inserts himself in his shows and is completely full of himself.”
“I don’t understand why this guy has a monopoly on tv shows I’ve tried several they all sucked.”
“He always writes himself into being the coolest guy in the show lol.”
“Ngl his shows are getting worse and worse.”
“So fun to be around.”
“Wow, start out negative way to go man.”
“Means you can’t write a good show after season 1
“What does he mean he hates these things? He loves being the center of attention.”
I guess most of these people won’t be watching The Madison, but the highly anticipated series is set to premiere on March 14 on Paramount+. You can watch the trailer here:
