Quentin Tarantino is very vocal about his favorite (and least favorite) movies and TV shows, and he had particularly harsh words for the hit neo-Western series, Yellowstone.

Though the Pulp Fiction filmmaker is most famous for making movies, he is also passionate about television, and Tarantino famously directed two CSI episodes. He’s also given candid opinions about popular shows, and they often come as a surprise.

For example, Tarantino loves How I Met Your Mother, but found True Detective to be so “boring” that he didn’t even finish the pilot episode.

One show many have found anything but boring is Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, centered around the titular Montana ranch run by the ruthless Dutton family.

For five seasons, the Duttons schemed, backstabbed, and even killed to keep their ranch away from those who wished to take it from them, with Yellowstone‘s explosive finale airing in December 2024.

The show was so popular that an entire Yellowstone universe was created, with two prequel series and at least three sequel spinoffs in the works. But one person who likely won’t be watching anymore Yellowstone shows is Quentin Tarantino.

Quentin Tarantino Dismissed Yellowstone As A “Soap Opera”

He Ultimately Finds The Series Forgettable

Right before the Yellowstone series finale was set to air, Quentin Tarantino appeared as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, and the topic of the beloved Western series came up. At first, Tarantino was complimentary of Yellowstone, particularly of season 1 and Taylor Sheridan’s writing. He said (via Variety):

“I didn’t get around to watching it the first three years or so and then I watched the first season and I thought, ‘Wow, this is f***ing great. I’ve always been a Kevin Costner fan and he is wonderful in this.’

I got caught up in the show and I’m having a good time. The first season, it’s like a big movie. The guy who writes it is a good writer. There’s punchy monologues and stuff. I end up watching three seasons of it and I even watch that ‘1883.’ It’s a good Western show.”

However, that’s essentially where Tarantino’s kind words ended. While he acquiesced that Yellowstone was entertaining as a whole — he even watched the 1883 prequel — he ultimately dismissed it as forgettable, dinging the show for its soap operatic qualities. Ultimately, he said he was,

…compelled and caught up in it, but at the end of the day it’s all just a soap opera. They’ve introduced you to a bunch of characters. You know their backstories and connections to everyone else… you don’t remember it five years from now. You’re only caught up in the minutia of it in the moment.

The difference is I’ll see a good Western movie, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. I’ll remember the story, this scene and that scene.

It built to an emotional climax of some degree. The story is good. It’s not just about the interpersonal relationships. But there’s a payoff to it. There is not a payoff on TV stuff.

It’s more interconnected drama. While I am watching, that is good enough. But when it’s over, I couldn’t tell you [what happened].

In true Tarantino fashion, he went on to cite a show that he did find had similar emotional cinematic qualities to a movie, and that was Homeland, specifically season 1. Homeland starred Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison as a CIA officer hiding her bipolar disorder, and it ran for seven seasons, from 2011-2020 on Showtime.

John Dutton Actor Kevin Costner Echoed Tarantino’s Comments But In A Loving Way

He Joked About The Fate The Duttons Deserved

Kevin Costner famously departed Yellowstone on a wave of controversy prior to the series finale, forcing the show to prematurely kill off his protagonist character, John Dutton, the family patriarch.

However, while he may have issues with the Taylor Sheridan series behind the scenes, Costner has continually sung the praises of Yellowstone and its high quality.

In a recent interview with ET, Costner candidly shared his thoughts on the Yellowstone finale while also taking the opportunity to address where he thinks the show excelled. He said,

“Well, it’s modern-day ranching. Yellowstone was able to capture that really so beautifully. I mean, it’s a bit of a soap opera. I mean, we all should be in prison.”

It’s interesting that Costner echoed Tarantino’s sentiment of Yellowstone being a soap opera, but he really seems to be speaking to what drew audiences in and kept us there across five seasons. The John Dutton actor is absolutely right that the main characters should all be put behind bars for the many felonies they committed, but that’s the fun part of the show.

It’s thanks to the show’s dramatic plotlines that viewers also get a slice of what real cowboy life is like, alongside the Duttons’ many trips to the train station.

If Yellowstone were solely about the authenticity of modern-day ranching, it wouldn’t have been nearly as popular, but it’s thanks to the show’s dramatic plotlines that viewers also get a slice of what real cowboy life is like — alongside the Duttons’ many trips to the train station.

We’ll Certainly Remember The Duttons “Five Years From Now”

Their Family Saga Is What Made Yellowstone So Compelling

As much as I admire the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director and love all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, I think that his oft-expressed love of the Western genre gives him a bias against Yellowstone.

From his comments, it seems like he judges TV shows based on their ability to be like movies, but the fact is that they’re different mediums, so this criteria for what makes a good show isn’t entirely fair. Yellowstone is a whole different beast than the classic Westerns that Tarantino holds so dear, but that doesn’t diminish its quality.