Yellowstone Boss Taylor Sheridan Didn't Mince Words About Critics

Taylor Sheridan doesn't care about critics. But that's not really all that surprising. With "The Madison," the man just wrote an entire show about how city life is irredeemably soulless compared to a bucolic middle American existence, and has infused almost all of his shows with an anti-big city sensibility. Did we really think he'd be inclined to listen to these elitist critics? Well, if for whatever reason there was still any doubt, the "Yellowstone" creator has now clarified things in an interview on The Bill Simmons podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter). "The critics and me — I don't care what they think," he said, "and it annoys the s*** out of them that I don't care."

Though they're wildly popular, Taylor Sheridan shows are yet to win any Emmys and the critics haven't always been complimentary. That said, the show that established Sheridan as a powerhouse TV creative, "Yellowstone," has solid Rotten Tomatoes scores for almost every season, with the third even managing to nudge the Tomatometer to 100% (though that is based on just seven reviews). Still, the final season went out with a perfectly respectable 75% rating. Likewise, both seasons of his hit oil drama "Landman" are "certified fresh." Yet, Sheridan seems to feel as if he's in a war with reviewers.

Much of that likely stems from the fact the prolific scenarist has consistently faced charges of writing one-dimensional female characters across all of his series, to the extent that both "1923" star Helen Mirren and "Landman" actor Ali Larter have defended Sheridan's writing. That, combined with a lack of Emmys recognition seems to have the "Yellowstone" creator all riled up, and it seems he's not above trying to "rage-bait" his critics as a result — even while he claims not to care what they think.

Star of two Taylor Sheridan series — "Landman" and "1883" — Sam Elliott once trashed the "Yellowstone" franchise as being "too much like f***ing 'Dallas' or something." But Sheridan remains focused solely on the professional critics, with whom he seems more than willing to do battle via his own shows. 

During his Bill Simmons appearance, the writer pointed to Demi Moore's character in "Landman," Cami Miller. The wife of Jon Hamm's Monty Miller Cami is sidelined in Season 1 as her husband runs the M-Tex oil company. But she takes over the firm in Season 2 following her husband's death. Sheridan recalled his initial meeting with Moore. "When I met with Demi about that I said, 'Here's the thing: You're going to be an extra in this show for seven episodes, you're an extra, and the critics are going to come after me," he said, before summarizing the critical response: "I'm underutilizing [Moore], can't write for women, all this nonsense."

"Landman" co-creator Christian Wallace acknowledged that the show sidelined Moore's character in Season 1, but promised Sheridan had a plan. Now, the man himself has confirmed it. Returning to his first meeting with Moore, the writer remembered telling her, "'Then I'm going to kill your husband and you're going to have to run the oil company.'" All of which, it seems, was designed at least in part to annoy critics. "I'll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage-bait [critics] a bit, and this is one of them," he said, pointing to how he could have given critics more episodes ahead of time so they could see his master plan play out. "But I didn't," he continued. "I just sent them the first three. Because f*** 'em, honestly."

Taylor Sheridan also claims to have used a "Landman" Season 2 storyline to annoy... well everyone, apparently. The second season sees Michelle Randolph's Ainsley Harris enroll at Texas Christian University (TCU) where she's paired with non-binary roommate Paigyn MeesterI (Bobbi Salvör Menuez). The two don't exactly get along, but ultimately come together in the final episode when Ainsley stands up to bullies harassing Paigyn.

This was, according to the writer, "one of the few times the network and even some of the actors called [him] and said, 'You sure you don't want to compress the resolution of Paigyn and Ainsley? What you do at episode 10, when they become friends ... You don't want to put that in episode nine?'" Sheridan's response? "No, for exactly the reason you're asking. I want to piss you off a little, and then, how dare I? And then you watch the next week and go, 'Oh, you got me.'"

Otherwise, Sheridan claimed to be completely uninterested in awards success. "I'm pretty common and I'm going to tell stories that common people are going to understand," he said, adding:

"That's most of America. You're not going to win no Emmys with me, but I'm not trying to win Emmys. That's not my goal. My goal is to sit somebody on their couch and move them, make them think, make them laugh, scare the s*** out of them, excite them."

Interestingly, "Yellowstone" fans and not critics have often been the most critical of Sheridan's work. There's a widespread belief that "Yellowstone" lost its way, with fans arguing over when "Yellowstone" truly hit its lowest point. Regardless, it seems Sheridan is intent upon "annoying the s***" out of those snooty big city critics.