Fans might not liking hearing that Taylor Sheridan hasn’t been super involved with the Yellowstone spinoff show that’s being teased as closest to the flagship series.
It’s no secret that the Yellowstone creator is one of the most sought after minds in Hollywood. Because it seems as though everything he touches turns to gold (or at least brings in massive ratings), there’s not an entertainment executive out there who doesn’t want a cut of the Taylor Sheridan pie. That obviously gets a lot of his projects green lit, which in turns makes him a very busy person.
So busy, in fact, that Sheridan has to trust others to carry on his vision for certain projects that have his name on it.
Taylor Sheridan doesn’t have the time to hunker down on just one show anymore. Think of all the other series he’s got going right now… Landman, Special Ops: Lioness, The Madison, Marshals, Mayor of Kingstown. Sheridan is a prolific writer, but he can’t be in more than one place at once. As the universe of Taylor Sheridan shows has grown, he’s had no other choice but to be less and less involved in each one.
Ali Larter said Sheridan wasn’t seen on set but two or three times during Season 2 of Landman. Marshals showrunner Spencer Hudnut explained that the Yellowstone creator didn’t really ever plan to be involved with the CBS show on a daily basis. And now, one of the stars of Dutton Ranch is saying much of the same.
The latest, Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler-focuses spinoff will return three Yellowstone actors: Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser and Finn Little. The latter plays Carter, the son of Beth and Rip in the show. He told Woman’s World that he’s grateful to be back in the Yellowstone universe, and that it was wonderful to work with his on-screen family again:
“It was awesome (working on Dutton Ranch). It was so amazing. I always enjoyed going back to ‘Yellowstone’ and being back on set, doing what I love to do, so being back on ‘Dutton Ranch’ was just the same.
It’s great to be back working with the (Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly) again. I’ve worked with them since I was 14, so I got very close and we’ve got a very comfortable relationship on set.”
During that interview, Little also revealed that Taylor Sheridan wasn’t involved as much with Dutton Ranch as he was with Yellowstone. That’s become somewhat expected with all of the plates that Sheridan has spinning, but it’s yet another confirmation that Sheridan is having to be selective with what he writes.
The actor behind Carter says that, as far as he knows, Sheridan is only an executive producer for the spinoff:
“My understanding is he’s just an executive producer. No writing on this one.”
Should fans be concerned about the future of Yellowstone? I wouldn’t say so. It’s just a matter of there only being so much Taylor Sheridan to go around. It feels like he’s now just getting shows off the ground more than anything, then has no other choice but to hand them off to others that he trusts. If Taylor Sheridan could be everywhere at once and write every single line in each and every show that has his name on it, I’m sure he would.
But that’s an impossible task, and something that Sheridan is being very careful about, in terms of not getting spread too thin.
