- Taylor Sheridan addressed criticism of his hit series, Landman, including complaints about how Demi Moore was used in the first season.
- Taylor Sheridan made it clear that he was not changing his creative decisions to satisfy critics and said their opinions had no effect on the way he worked.
- Taylor Sheridan also spoke about the television industry, saying he believed many studio executives were out of touc
Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan sparked fresh debate after criticising television critics and studio executives in his latest interview. The writer and producer said he was not concerned about negative reviews and believed those judging his work didn't understand what audiences actually wanted.
Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Sheridan addressed criticism of his hit series, Landman, including complaints about how Demi Moore was used in the first season. He made it clear that he was not changing his creative decisions to satisfy critics and said their opinions had no effect on the way he worked.
Sheridan also spoke about the television industry, saying he believed many studio executives were out of touch.
Taylor Sheridan said, “I knew when I started writing [I wanted] to simply not do what everyone else was doing. What everyone else was doing was taking shortcuts, essentially breaking all the very basic fundamental rules of storytelling, because they couldn't figure out their story.”
“With a movie, you're supposed to show me what's happening. The camera is supposed to move the story. The dialogue is supposed to tell me how the people in this world feel about what's happening or what they hope to do or what they wish they hadn't done or had done.”
Taylor Sheridan said he expected people to criticise Landman because Demi Moore's character was only seen around the swimming pool. He explained that Moore already knew before filming began that her character would have limited screen time in Season 1 because she was always meant to have a much bigger role in Season 2.
Sheridan said he knew some critics would accuse him of not making good use of Moore, but he insisted those comments do not influence his decisions.
According to him, “There are things that I do that rage bait them a bit and this is one of them. F*** 'em, honestly.”
Taking aim at Marvel movies, Taylor Sheridan claims that those films often spend too much time on character introductions before the action begins. He also said that many writers in Los Angeles and New York are so busy that they do not get enough time to step back and think about their work. Sheridan also criticised studios and executives, saying he believes many of them know “nothing” about what makes a successful show.
Sheridan said he believed the film and television industry worked differently in the past. According to him, writers and directors were given much more freedom to tell their stories without constant changes or repeated meetings with the studio.
He also argued that many modern studio and network executives come from backgrounds such as marketing, law or business rather than storytelling. Because of this, he believes they often do not have enough experience in creating stories but still make important creative decisions.
“Our business, at this point, is truly governed by these executives because they're the ones that are going to determine whether or not your script is going to go into production. They're going to try and control every element of that.”
Taylor Sheridan also said he has no plans to return to Los Angeles. He made it clear that he dislikes the idea of moving back there. In contrast, Sheridan spoke positively about New York, saying he believes the city is stronger and able to handle political and social changes. He also suggested that Los Angeles is less stable and more affected by shifting conditions, which is one of the reasons he does not want to return.
