Yellowstones final season drove off a cliff.
The television empire it spawned has never been stronger.
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On the surface, it appeared to be a tough year for Taylor SheridansYellowstone+universe.
Yet,Yellowstones finalereportedly drew in over 11 million viewers, an all-time high for the series.
Meanwhile, Paramount+ claims thatLandman, Sheridans latest project,is now its biggest original scripted series.
Why does Sheridans work endure?
The conversation around this question tends to assume a political dimension almost by default.
Do you know what Sheridan is pretty good at?
Making dumb, fun genre shows that are heavy on vibes and generally proficient with mechanics.
(Dont fucking maam me.
(That is, Oklahoma and Michigan.)
Sheridan writes soap operas: melodramatic, outrageous, emotional, big.
More specifically, he writes soap operas for men.
Sheridans shows tend to be uncommonly good at communicating a sense of place.
The impulse to emphasize politics when interpreting the Sheridan-verses popularity is understandable.
Sheridans loudly felt political vagueness, then, broadly matches this reality.
In many ways, his closest analogue is the similarly ubiquitous and controversial Ryan Murphy.
