Don’t ever wake up a sleeping giant…
Back before Taylor Sheridan created the masterpiece of Yellowstone, he was simply another actor trying to make a name for himself in Hollywood, and struggling to support his family.
However, when he got the part of Chief David Hale on Sons of Anarchy, he truly believed things were turning for the better.
Of course, that didn’t happen as it should’ve, and according to Deadline, a humiliation after asking for a raise is what blazed the trail for his famed screenwriting career.
Sheridan recalled a conversation his attorney had with an asshole business affairs attorney for the show:
“When my attorney said, ‘Look, there are kids on the Cartoon Network making more than you’re offering this guy,’ this jerk business affairs attorney goes:
‘He probably deserves to make more, but we’re not going to pay him more, because guess what? He’s not worth more. There are 50 of him. He is 11 on the call sheet. That’s what that guy is and that’s all he’s ever going to be.’
That’s really when I quit (because) that’s how the business saw me: ‘Let’s replace him with someone cheaper.’ And I decided that I didn’t want to be 11 on the call sheet for the rest of my life.”
Needless to say, the reality that he was a nothing actor, and that attorney’s blunt way of telling him, lit a fire inside of him. Taylor said goodbye to acting and started screenwriting and directing.
And where has it taken him?
He’s created critically acclaimed shows and movies like Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River, Yellowstone, 1883, along with a number of TV series he has in store.
And even though Taylor Sheridan might feel like he’s been doing this for years, it still feels like it’s just the beginning of the Taylor Sheridan empire.
Yellowstone Season 5 is set to premiere this coming November, with the new prequel series, 1932, following in December. And that’s just a couple of the shows he’s working on right now.
Taylor Sheridan Recalls Having Only 7 Months To Finish ‘1883’
Back in 2021, before 1883 even had a trailer, we knew that the Yellowstone prequel series was going to a massive endeavor.
Filming outside in Texas and Montana, building a real life traveling set with tons of wagons, accurately reflecting the times and staying true to time period… it’s a tall order.
With that being said, a number of 1883 cast members, including Tim McGraw, Sam Elliott, LaMonica Garrett, and even Taylor Sheridan, discussed the challenges while filming the show in an interview with Cowboys & Indians.
And one of the biggest challenges right out of the gate? Time.
When Sheridan wanted to start filming in early 2022, and Viacom/CBS wanted to premiere the show in December of 2021. That gave Sheridan all of 7 months to get this entire thing finished, and considering he was in the midst of working on Yellowstone and The Mayor of Kingstown, and all he had written for 1883 was the pilot script, Sheridan told ViacomCBS executive Keyes Hill-Edgar it was impossible.
As Taylor recalls, Hill-Edgar’s response went a little something like this:
“Look, we are betting the house on this, and we are fucked if you don’t do it. We’re paying you a lot of fucking money, so you fucking figure it out!”
Of course, when Sheridan told the story at the December gala premiere of the first two 1883 episodes at Wynn Las Vegas, he swapped out all the f-bombs for “trucking” because there were kids in the room.
But whether it’s fucking or trucking… Sheridan had to get cranking on it. There was no half-assing it. There was no cutting corners. If they were gonna do it, they were gonna do it right. And if he was gonna make this happen in just 7 months, he was gonna need a big blank check… and they obliged:
“It was impossible to have something air in seven months that wasn’t cast, with no locations, and no other scripts.
I said, ‘This first episode I’ve written is the best thing I’ve ever written. If I can’t have the time to make it right, I need everything else. I need the toys, I need the cast, I need the team. You will need to trust me, and it’s going to hurt.’
And I did not hear the word ‘no’ at all.”
And… they got it done.
Chad Galster, Sheridan’s longtime editor and collaborator, added:
“All of us collectively were saying at first, ‘How are we going to do that?’ And I still don’t know how we did it, but we did it and it’s airing. I mean, we are still working on it, but somehow, we got it done.
And I don’t know if it was the time pressure or the result in energy, but for myself, I think it’s the best thing that I’ve ever worked on. And I believe Taylor has said the same thing, and we’re all incredibly proud of it. And it is a minor miracle that it is on the air for people to enjoy.”
Needless to say, they assembled a top-notch team, did an incredible job of picking up a star studded cast in almost no time, which makes it even more impressive that they were able to put a solid show up by December.
I mean, the end result was stunning, but the best part of all of this may be… it’s only just the beginning.
Yellowstone Announces New Spinoff Series, ‘1932’
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe is growing.
In addition to the new prequel series, 1883, as well as the up and coming spinoff based on the newly-acquired Texas ranch, The Four Sixes, the wide world of Yellowstone is looking to fill the gaps with a brand new Paramount+ series titled, 1932.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the new series will take place during The Great Depression:
“The show will follow a new generation of Duttons during the time of Western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.”
1932 will essentially serve as the second season of what will become a Yellowstone Prequel Anthology Series.
We also know that it will star Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, but the rest of the cast remains a secret.
Taylor Sheridan says it’s all about reinventing the wheel again:
“We’re in an interesting time in scripted drama and TV because everyone is attempting to find this new way in to tell a story. And I’ve done it with all shows where I looked at a forgotten part of the American experience.”
With Yellowstone I had built out this backstory of where the Dutton family came from and with ‘1932’ I chose that moment in time to peek back in because you’re seeing the children we met in ‘1883’ now attempting to raise another generation of Dutton at a time of the wild west is becoming a playground for the elite from the East.”
Buckle up… it sounds like Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone are just getting warmed up.
The Four Sixes
The Four Sixes ranch was founded by Samuel “Burk” Burnett in 1870, when he bought 100 head of cattle branded with “6666” on them. These days, the ranch is a staggering 266,000 acres, on three different properties, as previously mentioned, it was purchased by a group spearheaded by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
There’s still no premiere date set for 6666, but we do know that it will likely stream exclusively on Paramount+ (much like 1883), and depending on filming schedules, could possibly be released at some point this year (towards the end of the year).
The show is rumored to star Jefferson White and Ryan Bingham who will reprise their roles as Jimmy and Walker.
Here’s the synopsis from a Paramount+ press release:
“Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666. Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing.
The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world-class cowboys are born and made.”
The working title of the upcoming spinoff is simply 6666 (also much like 1883).
Will Jimmy Be Involved?
Jefferson White sat down with us on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast and explained everything he knows about the upcoming spinoff so far.
Here’s what he had to say:
“We filmed those Four Sixes sequences down at the Four Sixes, which is a real life, huge, working cattle ranch… one of the biggest in the country, one of the oldest in the country. After spending four years on the Yellowstone which is a fictional ranch, it was a real eye-opener to go down to the Sixes which is a real life, incredible, sort of goliath, cattle ranch.
As far as the spinoff goes, I don’t think you’ll be surprised that I, Jeff/Jimmy never have any idea what the fuck is going on, and any time I think I do, Taylor does something better and cooler than I ever could’ve imagined.
All I can say is that I hope… I’m incredibly grateful for the work we’ve gotten to do so far, incredibly proud… all I can say as an actor is job security is very rare and very precious so I wanna play this character as long as they’ll let me.
And we’ll find out together how much longer that is… anytime I think I know what’s best for this character or for this world, Taylor proves me wrong. He knows better than any of us.”
Needless to say, only time will tell, but based on the way we saw Jimmy leave the Yellowstone Ranch at the end of Season 4… it sounds like Jimmy is going to be the star of his own show someday soon.
Stay tuned… with Taylor Sheridan involved, anything is possible.
Listen to the full podcast with Jefferson White, AKA Jimmy Hurdstrom, below:
The podcast is available everywhere. Download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.
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Our Yellowstone: The Soundtrack Playlist, featuring every song from every episode, updated in real time, every Sunday night.
