Taylor Sheridan’s 83% RT Western TV Show Is Better Than Any Movie For 1 Key Reason

It may be a controversial opinion, but Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone makes a case for being a better Western than any movie. Of course, the genre is a major cornerstone of Hollywood, with Western actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood being some of the biggest stars of their day, and the best Western movies considered some of the greatest of all time.

But Westerns have a storied history on television, too. Celebrated Western shows like Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger are synonymous with the early days of TV, while Rawhide, Bonanza, and a host of other series were also hugely popular.

Though the genre continued to have its place in television in the 21st century, with series such as Deadwood and Justified being critical favorites, Taylor Sheridan changed the game with Yellowstone. Premiering in 2018, the series that followed the Duttons, a powerful Montana ranching family, was a hit with American audiences. Yellowstone ran for five seasons, stealing the genre in the process.

Why Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Is Better Than Any Movie

Inarguably, the reason why Yellowstone was such a massive success is that the Dutton family is the heart of the series. Played with gritty stoicism by Kevin Costner, patriarch John Dutton and his adult children — the spineless Jamie, vengeful loose cannon Beth, and loyal-to-a-fault Jamie — are all flawed, messy humans, and their complex dynamic struck a chord with audiences.

While there is plenty of in-fighting amongst the Duttons — particularly the ongoing feud between Jamie and Beth — the ranching family faces plenty of threats from the outside. Everyone from land developers to Indigenous reservations to mega corporations wants a piece of their vast Montana land.

The fight for land is the crux of what Westerns are all about, and no movie could show that with as much complexity or as many twists as the five-season Yellowstone. Taylor Sheridan’s series really explores what it means to be a land owner in this ever-evolving modern world, and how doling out their own brutal brand of frontier justice is crucial to the Duttons’ survival — at least in their eyes.

Almost every Yellowstone main character is both a hero and a villain at some point in the series, with many ultimately making a home for themselves in the grey area. With television being a medium of long-form storytelling, Yellowstone is able to explore that complexity, whereas characters in time-constrained Western movies are usually only good guys or bad guys.

If Yellowstone were boiled down to a two-hour movie, we would miss so much nuance, whether it be Beth and Rip’s evolving relationship or how Kayce grapples with his legacy and living life on his own terms. These are some of the most beloved characters on television, not just because we had five seasons to get to know them, but because they are so emblematic of the Western genre.

Yellowstone Romanticized Westerns While Showing Authentic Cowboy Life

If a life in the American West hasn’t called to you before, you’ll surely feel the pull when tuning into Yellowstone. The stunning Montana vistas and the sound of galloping horses are their own kind of siren song.

Though many may envy the Duttons for their beautiful land, stable of horses, and cozy lodge that housed generations, their existence is anything but simple. Every season sees them getting deeper into the war against their enemies, with the brutal irony being that what they’re fighting for is a simple way of life, a paradox at the heart of the Western genre.

But make no mistake — Yellowstone is unflinchingly honest in its unglamorous portrayal of what it means to be a cowboy. Rip and the ranch hands work themselves to the bone from dawn till dusk, all the while knowing that their way of life is disappearing before their very eyes. At the end of Yellowstone, everyone’s future seems tenuous.

Western authenticity is a tenet of Sheridan’s series, and he even featured real-life Western icons like the late Billy Klapper in Yellowstone, proving the show’s credibility. Though many of Yellowstone‘s storylines are necessarily dramatic, scenes like Rip letting a little boy pet a horse in a parking lot make the characters feel as if they’re real people.

Yellowstone Spawned Many Spinoffs

Taylor Sheridan didn’t just create a hit series with Yellowstone; he created a Western TV empire. Clearly, interest in the Dutton family wasn’t limited to the present-day characters, as prequel series 1883 and 1923 portrayed different generations of the iconic clan.

Yellowstone fans also won’t have to say goodbye to their favorite characters, as both Beth and Kayce Dutton are getting their own spinoffs. Beth’s will be called Dutton Ranch and focus on her life with Rip on their new land, while Kayce’s is Y: Marshals and will be a procedural.

Ultimately, no Western movie is able to tell a story with close to the scope of Yellowstone‘s — even if Kevin Costner is trying with his Horizon series. Yellowstone is the definition of a quintessential Western saga, and Sheridan proves that television is the best medium to tell it.