Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone and Tulsa King face declining ratings after strong debuts, raising concerns about sustaining their initial magic.

The Taylor Sheridan charm appears to be fading. First, it was his fan-favorite neo-Western Yellowstone that became the victim of the dangerous trend of falling ratings after the initial debut season.

Now, even his other fan-beloved show, Tulsa King, which made Sylvester Stallone’s dreams of starring in a Mafia piece come true, is following the same trend.

While it was Sheridan himself who created the crime drama, he also hired Terence Winter—who served as one of the writers and producers on The Sopranos—to be the showrunner for season 1 (though he was later demoted to head writer before season 2).

Despite this, Stallone’s series could not be spared from the dangerous trend following Sheridan’s shows.

Tulsa King’s ratings have consistently fallen since its first season

Sylvester Stallone in a still from Tulsa King. | Credit: Paramount Pictures.

When Tulsa King kickstarted, it felt like it could turn out to be one of the best shows ever created by Taylor Sheridan.

This is because season one of the series proved to be so spectacular that its lowest-rated episode (episode 7) received only a 7.7 out of 10 rating, while its highest-rated episode (episode 5) stood at a stellar 8.3 out of 10 on IMDb. In fact, out of 9 episodes, the season, released in early 2022, had seven top-rated episodes.

However, this was notably changed drastically with the second season, which was released at the end of 2024. While Sylvester Stallone‘s show’s highest-rated episode (episode 9) in season 2 stands at 8.2 stars out of 10, its least-rated episode (episode 2) went as low as 7.3 out of 10 (on IMDb).

Out of the 10 episodes of this season, there were only three top-rated episodes, which stands in striking contrast compared to the first season.

Yellowstone. | Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Unfortunately, this trend was also noticeable in Yellowstone. In the Kevin Costner-led saga, the debut season proved to be simply brilliant, as its least-rated episode (episode 2) garnered 7.9 stars out of 10 while its best-rated episode (episode 9) holds 8.4 stars.

Then seasons 2 and 3 even bettered this streak as their highest-rated episodes gained 9.2 stars, with the least-rated score still not dropping below 7.9.

But then season 4 came around. While its first episode received a rating of 9.2 out of 10, the episodes that followed saw a substantial dip in ratings, with the lowest-rated episode (episode 9) scoring 7.7 stars.

This disturbing trend was further carried forward by Season 5 as well, this time even worse, as the last season’s highest-rated episode (Episode 11) stood at 8.3 stars, while the lowest-rated ones (Episodes 9 and 13) dropped as low as 7.

Here’s a look at how drastically the ratings of Yellowstone dropped from its debut season down to its final season on IMDb (out of 10, based on ratings from 280,000 viewers):

Our take on Taylor Sheridan’s shows’ ratings falling after their debut seasons

Taylor Sheridan in a still from Yellowstone. | Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Frankly enough, it’s pretty disappointing to see how the mighty are falling, with even Taylor Sheridan proving to be a victim of the very high bar he has set. While his debut season worked perfectly, hitting viewers hard and dazzling critics, who had their expectations soaring, Sheridan appears to have been unable to sustain that magic across the seasons that followed.

Hiring top-tier talent like Terence Winter added prestige to Tulsa King, sure, but it didn’t necessarily bring that crisp freshness or aid the show in reaching those expectations that the first season helped establish. Despite critical acclaim, the shows seem to be losing urgency, layering more characters and chaos instead of deepening the story.

As viewers crave for the storytelling to keep pace with each new season, it feels like the mastermind is falling short. That said, it’s evident that Taylor Sheridan’s shows are leaning into a pretty concerning trend—one that he needs to take care of before things really get out of hand and his once-golden touch starts feeling a bit too predictable.