Taylor Sheridan was almost a part of one of the most successful and popular TV shows of the 2010s… besides Yellowstone, of course.
There may not have been a bigger series from 2010 to 2020 than The Walking Dead. The zombie drama aired on AMC from 2010 to 2022, running for an impressive 11 seasons and fostering plenty of incredible pop culture moments. Who could forget all of the “Carrrrll” memes? Or the fact that the show was the definition of appointment television in its early days.
Personally, I remember having watch parties with friends and sitting on the edge of my seat for nearly every episode. As far as ratings go, The Walking Dead was pulling some absolutely crazy numbers during it’s first six seasons. However, most trace the downfall of the show back to the controversial introduction of Jeffrey Dean-Morgan’s Negan at the end of the sixth-season.
That was the jumping off point for most. Many were turned off by the massive cliffhanger that season six finished with, and fans passionately hated the big reveal when season seven rolled around. Pair that with some questionable exits by main characters post season six and you had the makings of a series that limped to the finish line as a shell of its former self. Sometimes a show just has to know when to end.
And now, looking back on the series, it’s crazy to think that Taylor Sheridan was this close to playing a very iconic role in The Walking Dead.
In case you didn’t know, the Yellowstone co-creator first got into Hollywood through acting. His first major acting opportunity came through Walker, Texas Ranger. Sheridan starred in Season 3’s double-episode that was titled “War Zone,” and played a character named Vernon who was a drag racer.
Sheridan would go on to play bigger roles in well known shows like Veronica Mars and Sons of Anarchy. With the latter, he asked for a pay raise, and couldn’t come to an agreement on one. So he eventually ditched acting and got into writing and directing. It’s very safe to say that worked out swimmingly for Sheridan, but he revealed in an interview with Bill Simmons last month that he almost landed a role that could have really jumpstarted his acting career:
“I got pretty far down the road on ‘The Walking Dead.’ Bernthal beat me out on that.”
That’s right. Taylor Sheridan got deep into the auditioning process to play Shane Walsh – an apocalypse survivor, former police offer and best friend of Rick Grimes (the show’s main character played by Andrew Lincoln). The role eventually went to Jon Bernthal instead, and many label it as Bernthal’s breakout role.
Since starring as Shane for two seasons, Bernthal has gone on to star in some of the biggest movies and TV shows in the last decade. Need examples? Look no further than Ford v Ferrari, King Richard, The Bear, The Odyssey, and most recently, Spider-Man: Brand New Day (where he played The Punisher).
Could Taylor Sheridan have experienced a similar career arc if he would have landed the role of Shane? Possibly. But you can’t say things didn’t work out for Sheridan too. He went on to co-create Yellowstone, which was arguably just as big as The Walking Dead in the 2010s. And of course, that led Sheridan to bring many other uberly successful series to life, like Landman, Lioness, Mayor of Kingstown, and The Madison, just to name a few.
Still though… I would have loved to see what The Walking Dead looked like with Taylor Sheridan as a part of it.
