Taylor Sheridan Will Never Beat His 3-Year Neo-Western Streak

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Taylor Sheridan realized he didn’t want to be just a supporting actor forever! He shared that he felt this way 16 years ago when he left Sons of Anarchy, a decision that ultimately proved beneficial. The network wouldn’t meet his salary request for his role as Deputy David Hale, leading to his character’s dramatic exit. Now, he’s become one of the most successful television producers in the industry.

Sheridan is a talented actor who can handle many different kinds of roles. But he’s best known for his work in Westerns, and that’s what made him famous. He’s received a lot of recognition for his contributions, including being honored by the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Surprisingly, some of his most successful projects weren’t on TV. In the early 2010s, he starred in three critically acclaimed neo-Western films back-to-back. While he continues to deliver strong performances, those three movies stand out as something truly special.

Taylor Sheridan Was at His Creative Peak in 2015, 2016, and 2017


Lionsgate

It took a while for Taylor Sheridan to get the Hollywood recognition he deserved. Though he’d acted in over 15 TV shows before Yellowstone and was known for creating memorable supporting characters, he hadn’t received much attention as a leading talent. It’s no surprise he eventually became frustrated.

Following his departure from Sons of Anarchy and a short stint assisting a friend with the low-budget horror film Vile, Taylor Sheridan was determined to take control of his career. He wrote Sicario, a story about an honest FBI agent recruited by a government task force to dismantle a major Mexican drug cartel. The script impressed Lionsgate, who then brought in Denis Villeneuve to direct. Released in 2015, Sicario was a success with both critics and audiences, and received Academy Award nominations for its cinematography, original score, and sound editing.

A year after his previous work, Sheridan returned with Hell or High Water, a modern Western about two brothers resorting to bank robbery to protect their family’s ranch. Hot on their trail were two determined Texas Rangers. The script, originally called Comancheria, gained recognition when it topped the Black List in 2012. The expertly crafted film, featuring strong performances, earned four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), and Best Editing.

Those who believed Sheridan’s success was fading were proven incorrect. In 2017, he delivered the third film in his acclaimed series exploring contemporary American life on the fringes of society – Wind River. The movie follows a wildlife tracker and an FBI agent as they investigate a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. While it didn’t receive any Academy Award nominations, critics still gave it high praise.

Sheridan’s TV Commitments Make His Streak Harder to Beat


Paramount+

As a huge movie fan, I always feel a little uneasy when I see people criticizing Taylor Sheridan. From everything I’ve heard, he’s not the type of director who dominates a set or tries to control everything – he’s genuinely enthusiastic and really takes risks with his stories. Honestly, he’s moved past a lot of the filmmakers who inspired him. He’s constantly bringing up important, current issues, and it’s made even classic Westerns feel a bit stale and overly dramatic by comparison. It’s like he’s breathed new life into the genre.

It might be difficult for Sheridan to continue his current success with critically acclaimed projects, now that he’s focusing more on television. He’s especially busy in 2026 and beyond, needing to create a lot of content for his new $1 billion deal with NBCUniversal. Maintaining a four-year streak of high-quality films or series seems improbable. Furthermore, because he shares writing credits on some of his TV shows, the final product isn’t solely a reflection of his work.

Even if Taylor Sheridan wrote every single project himself, maintaining a consistent level of quality for another four years would be difficult. While shows like Yellowstone and Wind River immediately proved his talent, his recent work has been uneven. Many of his series, including Yellowstone and Landman, start strong but lose momentum. Others, like Lioness, begin slowly and then build in quality over time.

It’s possible the incredible success of Taylor Sheridan’s recent work – often described as modern Westerns – stemmed from his ambition to make a name for himself. Now a very successful and confident creator, he’s in a position to continue making projects his way. With a dedicated audience and a strong team who believe in him, he’s likely to stick with what’s working rather than take risks on new approaches.

Sheridan’s approach seems to have changed recently. He now focuses on creating enjoyable television and movies for everyone, rather than making complex works meant only for a select few. While this shift towards more popular content has affected his reputation as an artist (he hasn’t received an Emmy award yet), he’s still considered a major creator of widely-consumed entertainment. He’s a truly talented and forward-thinking filmmaker with a lot of creativity and style, and it’s possible he may surprise us again in the future.




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2026-02-24 02:03