Taylor Sheridan’s Joe Rogan confession didn’t shock me, Yellowstone was never about realism. It’s cowboy myth wrapped in modern drama.

Taylor Sheridan’s confession to American podcaster Joe Rogan that he’s often accused of writing characters that don’t exist (toxic masculinity is one example) didn’t shock me one bit. Yellowstone was never about realism; it’s basically cowboy mytho wrapped in modern-day conflict. His characters don’t just live, but they loom. And that’s exactly the point.

Sheridan writes to elevate life into something mythic, not just reflect it. His confession might change how one looks at Yellowstone, but it didn’t do it for me. If anything, it makes his entire playbook make even more sense.

Taylor Sheridan’s confession might change how one sees Yellowstone but I saw that coming

Taylor Sheridan in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Taylor Sheridan finally said the quiet part out loud, and I did see that coming a mile away.

During his sit-down with Joe Rogan on his podcast, which aired last year, the Yellowstone creator doubled down on the very ideology that’s been seeping into the show’s storyline for a while now.

Sheridan reflected on how modern culture has taken a swing at values like work ethic and masculinity. And he’s felt the heat. TS even admitted he’s been accused of toxic masculinity himself.

Oh yeah, I’ve been accused of that…These are all terms that have been created…It’s fascinating that language is being reinvented before our eyes.

There’s all these new words that are just meant to keep one person from disagreeing with another person’s position.

But what really stood out was his reference to Paul Harvey’s 1965 poem If I Were the Devil. It’s old-school Americana panic, dressed up as prophecy, and Sheridan’s all in. As he said on the podcast, he sees today’s social movements as that poem in action. Rogan agreed, naturally.

And this is no podcast banter. It’s the Sicario writer spelling out the ideological tilt that Yellowstone took, especially in its later seasons. Early on, the Duttons were flawed, messy, and clearly not the “good guys.” But Sheridan stopped showing us both sides somewhere along the way and started sermonizing.

Taylor Sheridan’s take on crime, poverty, and politics was a literal conservative playbook. He even broke it down like a thesis: liberals believe in fixing systems, conservatives believe in managing evil. It’s not subtle, and neither is Yellowstone anymore.

This confession not only explains but confirms the shift, and for some fans, that might change everything.

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan said the show was made for critics to hate

Taylor Sheridan in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Yellowstone was never meant to win over the critics, at least that’s what Taylor Sheridan claims. On The Joe Rogan Experience, the showrunner admitted the hit Western has no real plot and was built to ruffle feathers.

Sheridan admitted the lack of structure gave him room to poke fun, highlight contrasting views, and study a way of life on the brink. But he drew a clear line between Yellowstone and its more plot-heavy prequels like 1883, 1923, and the upcoming 1944. He alluded,

It has no plot, really…In that, I have a lot of opportunities to poke fun, but also kind of point out different points of views, and kind of really study a way of life and a world. There’s a lot of defiance in the way I do it.

While Yellowstone gears up for its spin off Y: Marshals, the drama off-screen’s rivaled the show itself. Be it Kevin Costner’s exit or rumors about Matthew McConaughey reconsidering the spin-off 2024 (now renamed as The Madison), the Duttonverse stays wild.

Watch Yellowstone on Peacock & Apple TV.