Taylor Sheridan Slams Studio Execs, Critics, and Awards Culture: “I’m Not Trying To Win Emmys”

When it comes to making TV, Taylor Sheridan clearly has his own philosophy, and he isn’t interested in changing it to make critics, studio executives, or awards voters happy.

The creative force behind Yellowstone and Landman recently sat down for an extensive conversation on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he opened up about everything from his storytelling process to the state of Hollywood.

Along the way, he took aim at studio development culture, critics, and even admitted that he sometimes enjoys irritating the people who review his work.

Sheridan explained that when he shifted from acting into writing, he made a conscious decision to avoid following the same creative habits he saw throughout Hollywood.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

He also criticized the storytelling style used in many Marvel movies, arguing that they rely too heavily on exposition instead of visual storytelling.

Sheridan said those films often have characters delivering “information dumps that you have to follow to get to the action rather than actually moving plot with action”.

The writer and producer, who lives outside Fort Worth, Texas, and also owns a home in Wyoming, suggested that many writers living in Los Angeles and New York don’t give themselves enough time away from the industry to actually reflect.

His harshest comments, though, were aimed squarely at studio and network executives, who he believes have far too much influence over creative decisions despite lacking storytelling experience.

“It didn’t used to be this way when Steve McQueen was a movie star at Paramount and Bobby Evans ran the studio because writers were turned loose. Directors were turned completely loose.

“There weren’t endless rewrites. There weren’t meetings with executives about tone and mood and all this nonsense. You didn’t have a lot of people. By the way, the studio executives and the network executives… these are marketing executives for the most part,” he said.

“Or maybe they studied law or whatever. Then they came and they got a job in the mailroom at CAA or WME and hated that sh*t. So, then they ended up as an intern at some network.

“Then through attrition, they find themselves the head of development. Well, what do you know about developing story? You know nothing. So they get terrified, panicked that the audience won’t get it because they actually have no storytellers.”

Sheridan went on to explain that executives often ask for detailed explanations about characters before audiences have even met them.

“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.”

When he signed his deal with Paramount, Sheridan said he made it clear that he wasn't interested in making television by committee.

“This is not a democracy. There’s no committee. You’re going to pay me and you’re going to give me a bunch of money and I’m going to deliver you these shows. I’m pretty common and I’m going to tell stories that common people are going to understand. 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 shit out of them, excite them. That’s what I want to do, because that’s what I want from a show.”

It's an interesting perspective considering Paramount held a For Your Consideration event just a few weeks ago to boost the Emmy campaigns for Landman and The Madison, with cast members including Billy Bob Thornton, Andy Garcia, and Sam Elliott in attendance.

Sheridan also addressed the criticism surrounding Demi Moore's limited screen time during the first season of Landman. He revealed that he warned the Oscar-winning actress from the beginning that her role would expand later.

“The critics are going to come after me. I’m underutilizing [Moore], can’t write for women, all this nonsense. Then I’m going to kill your husband and you’re going to have to run the oil company,” he said.

“The critics and me… I don’t care what they think and it annoys the shit out of them that I don’t care. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage bait them a bit, and this is one of them. F*ck ‘em, honestly.”

Whether people agree with that mindset or not, it certainly explains why Sheridan rarely seems interested in responding to reviews.

Sheridan has already built one of television's biggest modern franchises and recently signed a major deal with NBCUniversal, so it doesn't look like he'll be changing his approach anytime soon.

Whether his comments spark debate or rub people the wrong way, one thing is certain. He's making the shows he wants to make, and he seems perfectly content letting everyone else argue about them.