Taylor Sheridan, Ph.D.: ‘Yellowstone’ creator awarded honorary degree from Texas university
“Yellowstone” and “Landman” creator Taylor Sheridan has been nominated for an Oscar, but his latest honor is a little different.
Texas State University will honor the Fort Worth native with an honorary doctoral degree. Sheridan was a theatre major at Texas State until he dropped out in 1991. The Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the honors during a February meeting.
Sheridan and two other people — Jack Martin and Nathali Parker Weisman — will receive their “Doctor of Letters” degree at a future date, according to the university.
Texas State has awarded honorary doctorates since 1962 and recognizes excellence in “public affairs, humanities, the arts, education, business and the sciences.”
A look at Taylor Sheridan’s career
Sheridan began his entertainment career as an actor three decades ago.
From episodes in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Party of Five,” to “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and “Star Trek: Enterprise,” Sheridan worked steadily as an actor from the late ‘90s to early ‘00s. His longest tenured acting job was on the biker series “Sons of Anarchy” as Deputy Chief David Hale for 21 episodes from 2008 to 2010.
Sheridan’s first screenwriting credit would come in 2015’s “Sicario,” an action-thriller about the drug war along the U.S. and Mexico border. “Hell or High Water,” a film he wrote, released just one year later and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
In 2017, Sheridan wrote and directed the crime thriller “Wind River” about a murder on a Native American reservation. But three movies in three years was just the beginning for Sheridan’s Hollywood career.
The Paramount Network premiered the Sheridan co-created series “Yellowstone” in 2018 to much acclaim. From then on, Paramount would stay in business with Sheridan.
In 2021, two Sheridan-created shows premiered on Paramount+: “Mayor of Kingstown” and the “Yellowstone” prequel “1883.” By 2022, Paramount+ rolled out a couple more Sheridan shows in “Tulsa King” and another “Yellowstone” prequel, “1923.”
“Lioness” and “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” premiered in 2023, followed by the Billy Bob Thornton-led “Landman” last year.
Currently, Sheridan has “1923” season 2 on the air and is in post-production on “The Madison.” Paramount recently renewed “Landman” for a second season, which is expected to begin production in Fort Worth later this month.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 4:37 PM.
