Well… here’s yet another example of Taylor Sheridan being shunned and not given the recognition he deserves. The New York Times just wrapped up their “100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century” list, and not a single series created by Sheridan made the cut.
There’s probably not anyone in the TV industry busier than Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. Though his flagship series has been wrapped up for some time now, he continues to be the mind behind various other hits that bring in millions of viewers per episode. For today’s standards, that’s almost uncalled for… but Sheridan has evidently cracked the code, and has developed a massive, loyal following of fans.
Despite the love that Sheridan gets from fans, the writer and director rarely ever gets the credit he deserves from critics. And he certainly didn’t get any love from the New York Times, who just released their Top 100 TV Shows that have aired since January 1, 2001 and decided not to include a single Taylor Sheridan series in the list.
In order for a TV show to be eligible to make the list, it just had to premiere on or after January 1 (so no, The Sopranos was not on the list). They then had voters – which consisted of actors, critics, showrunners and industry experts – submit their Top 10 series, which NYT then sorted those results out into the Top 100 that was just made final earlier today.
They released 20 at a time over the past couple of weeks, and with 20 through 1 still to be announced, there was not a single Sheridan show on the list. But fans were holding out hope, thinking that at least Yellowstone – or maybe even 1883 or 1923 – would make the list. After all, Yellowstone is one of the most watched, most successful and most culturally impactful shows of the last decade, and the two aforementioned spinoffs were highly praised by critics when they came out.
Is that surprising? Yes and no. The creator of shows like Landman and The Madison has been very open about how he doesn’t care about award, or what critics thinks. He even intentionally includes shots at Hollywood in many of his shows. There’s no doubt Taylor Sheridan is deserving to be on the list, and is one of the most successful TV creators of the 21st century. But if the list was voted on by critics and fellow showrunners… it makes sense that he was omitted.
It’s just unbelievable to comb through this list and not see a single Sheridan series. Granted, the New York Times made some good selections – like placing Breaking Bad atop the mountain, and giving some love to some of my favorite shows of all time, like Arrested Development and Nathan For You.
But I do feel as though the list in its entirety loses some credibility when you don’t include a man who has absolutely dominated the TV spaces for almost a decade straight.
Here’s the Top 20 typed out, just in case you were curious:
The 20 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century, According To The New York Times
20. The Crown
19. Chernobyl
18. I May Destroy You
17. The Americans
16. The Office (U.K.)
15. Six Feet Under
14. Friday Night Lights
13. Girls
12. Arrested Development
11. The Office (U.S.)
10. Atlanta
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
8. 30 Rock
7. Veep
6. Game of Thrones
5. Fleabag
4. Succession
3. Mad Men
2. The Wire
1. Breaking Bad
