Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Appeared In A Classic Western Series That's Streaming For Free

Alongside taking over the TV landscape with a staggering array of series, Taylor Sheridan has been engaging in a sort of Western boosterism. The man who rose to TV prominence by creating and scripting the hugely successful neo-Western series "Yellowstone" has since churned out multiple spin-offs alongside a raft of other series, many of which are either Westerns themselves or inspired by the genre. At this point, there are almost a dozen shows under the Sheridan umbrella, including a Western series that you've probably never heard of but which sums up the man's modus operandi.

"The Last Cowboy" is a reality competition series that focuses on the sport of horse reining, wherein contestants compete in the "Run for a Million" event, which was started by none other than Sheridan himself. As the official site of the event states, the "Run for a Million" and "The Last Cowboy" are designed to "celebrate the growth of the western lifestyle and western performance equine industry." So far, the prolific writer has managed to do just that with his expansive TV empire, and is arguably single-handedly responsible for a resurgence of the genre which otherwise fell out of favor with mass audiences decades ago.

If anyone was going to take on such a task, it was always going to be Sheridan. The man grew up in North Texas where his family had a ranch he would visit on weekends. He has been immersed in the lifestyle ever since, even when he moved to Los Angeles and tried to make it as an actor. Before he penned "Sicario" and made his name, ultimately becoming the TV impresario he is today, the man was a struggling actor who you likely saw in a range of shows, from "Star Trek: Enterprise" to "Veronica Mars" and "Sons of Anarchy." But he also found time to show up in a classic Western series that you can now revisit for free.

Taylor Sheridan made his name as a writer with "Sicario," the haunting Denis Villeneuve-directed crime thriller that still might be the best Sheridan movie. But the writer has since parlayed his film writing career into becoming one of the most influential and prolific TV writers and creators in the industry right now, and now oversees a vast empire of TV shows. Most of these also happen to feature Sheridan himself. In "Yellowstone," for instance, Sheridan plays horse trainer Travis Wheatley, a character who had an expanded role in the controversial final season of the series. He can also be seen in the "1883" spin-off, as well as his spy thriller series "Lionness," in which he plays Cody Spears.

Why is Sheridan popping up in so many of the shows he writes? Well, aside from the fact he knew how to ride horses better than any actor he could find for Travis Wheatley, a lot of it surely has to do with the fact he started as an actor. Back in the mid-'90s, Sheridan was trying to forge a career as a performer, and though he would only ever make it to "10th on the call sheet" as he told CBS News, he appeared in quite an array of series during his time in L.A.

One of his smaller roles came courtesy of CBS Western drama "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." The series starred Jane Seymour as Dr. Michaela Quinn, who left her native Boston to brave life on the frontier in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There, she's helped by outdoorsman Byron Sully (Joe Lando) and sets up her own practice, despite facing considerable pushback from the locals who don't necessarily take kindly to a fancy Northern doctor setting up shop in their town (especially a woman). The show was successful, running for six seasons between 1993 and 1998 before two TV movies were produced following fan uproar at the cancellation of the series. It's this show that gave Sheridan one of his earliest Western roles.

In 1997, Taylor Sheridan played a small role in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." The young actor appeared in the season 6 episode "A Matter of Conscience," wherein several Native American raids prompt saloon owner Hank Lawson (William Shockley) to appoint himself sheriff of Colorado Springs, stoking the ire of surrounding Native American tribes. General Wooden (Tom Dahlgren) then arrives in town to try to stop the ongoing raids, but dies after becoming injured and drinking whiskey against the advice of Dr. Quinn. Friend of Sully and eventual sheriff of Colorado Springs, Daniel (John Schneider), then speaks to Sgt. McKay (David Beecroft) and tries to persuade him to free some of the Native American prisoners.

It's here that Sheridan comes in, playing the relatively small role of Corporal Winters. Winters is second in command to McKay and only appears on-screen briefly throughout the episode. He does, however, have several lines, which makes this a significant early role for the actor who, at the time, wasn't exactly flourishing. Sheridan told the Austin American-Statesman that during his early years in L.A., he was living out of his truck and pitching a tent on a reservation north of the city. So a speaking role in a successful CBS series certainly wasn't nothing at the time.

It's also just neat to see the man who would help revitalize the Western genre in years to come playing a small role in a Western series prior to becoming the maestro of the genre he is today. If you fancy taking a look back at this early Sheridan appearance, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" is currently streaming on Pluto TV for free.