Taylor Sheridan, we’re breaking up. I just can’t watch ‘Dutton Ranch’ | Opinion
Dear Taylor Sheridan,
I can’t do this anymore. I think we have to break up.
It’s not you. It’s me.
Actually, it’s your shows.
I can’t keep up with your whirlwind pace. You deserve better, someone who will forsake all other entertainment and live full-time in the Sheridan-verse. Someone who can continue to suspend disbelief and convince themselves that characters like Rip and Beth Dutton are the good guys.
This isn’t easy for me. I was a day-one “Yellowstone” guy. Even as it grew ever-more ridiculous, with the bodies piling up at the “train station” and huge chunks of episodes devoted to ranch-management B-roll laid over the latest anodyne twang we’re calling country music.
But like a photocopy of a photocopy, this stuff is getting fuzzy. There was a time when the May 15 debut of “Dutton Ranch,” the spinoff starring Rip and Beth and, presumably, lots of Texas vistas, would have been appointment viewing.
I just … can’t. Those characters are irredeemable. Any self-respecting show-runner would have made sure they paid for their considerable crimes with painful deaths at the end of “Yellowstone.” Instead, if the trailer is an accurate reflection of the new show, they managed to uproot their lives, move thousands of miles and somehow find themselves beset by a whole new group of evil people who obviously need killing to protect the Dutton family’s heritage and honor.
The promo ends with Rip dumping a body, presumably so the viewer knows it’s an authentic “Yellowstone” spinoff. It looks like an abandoned mineshaft has replaced the steep cliff that the Duttons made into a highly populated graveyard on the Montana-Wyoming line. Who knew it was so easy to find a place to dispose of so many corpses?
Look, I know this is the era of the anti-hero. But Rip has morphed from righteous defender of a dying way of life to — there’s no other way to put it — a serial killer.
And Beth? Her spinoff shouldn’t be based on another ranch. It should be set in a mental hospital.
This isn’t easy for me. I was there for “1883.” (Still your best work, by the way. The foresight to see that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill could hang with an actor the caliber of Sam Elliott was impressive.)
I gritted my teeth as “1923” became so preposterous that it even distracted from the dead-fish quality that Harrison Ford brings to every role. As Alexandra faced nightmarish peril after peril, even the creators of “24” — who will never live down having Jack Bauer’s daughter literally chased by a cougar — had to be thinking: “Well, that’s just silly.”
Taylor, your prolificacy is incredible. Your empire is vast. But I knew we were in trouble when I couldn’t bring myself to touch “Marshals,” though it’s only tangentially yours, or even “The Madison,” which comes highly recommended by people I trust.
At first, I started to come around. Who doesn’t love Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer, right? But there are so many shows, so many networks. When someone said to me with a tinge of horror, “You’re not watching ‘Tulsa King’?” I knew it was time to just cut the cord and move on. I need to explore relationships outside of Paramount+.
I will always appreciate what you have done for our mutual hometown. You are an industry unto yourself, and Fort Worth is reaping all kinds of benefits. This booming city of 1 million people hasn’t had the profile it should, and your content farm is giving our attractions good exposure and establishing a strong presence in a business that will probably grow here for years.
But for my own self-preservation, I need to spend some time with content that’s a little more realistic. Like “Transformers.”
I hope you understand and we can still be friends, or at least friendly.
P.S. — We can still see each other for “Landman,” Taylor. We’ll always have “Landman.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 10:52 AM.
