Taylor Sheridan's 6 Shows Were Snubbed: Why Do Emmy Voters Hate His Dramas?

Yahoo

3 days ago

It wasn't like nobody tried.
Major-name actors starring on at least two Taylor Sheridan shows recently made the rounds at 'for your consideration' press events in the lead up to this year's Emmy nominations.
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Yet, once again, when the nominations were read Tuesday morning, the prolific hitmaker's eligible dramas — all six of them — were shut out of the major categories. This includes the debut season of Landman, which Paramount+ had high hopes might break Sheridan's Emmy curse.
A few series picked up a nod or two for below-the-line departments — Tulsa King and Lioness received nominations for best stunts, and 1923 was nominated for production design and costumes. While hit series Landman, Mayor of Kingstown and the final season of Yellowstone didn't receive anything at all.
This outcome comes despite Sheridan's dramas starring actors who are highly respected in the industry, such as Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford and Billy Bob Thornton — all of whom gamely put themselves out there during campaign season. But 1923's Ford was left out in the cold despite being nominated for his other show (Apple TV+'s comedy Shrinking), and Landman star Thornton was snubbed despite receiving a Golden Globe nomination.
The snubs are ironic as Sheridan has stunned the industry for his ability to attract A-list talent. But getting those actors recognition during awards season has proved an uphill battle. (Yellowstone star Kevin Costner did win a Golden Globe, at least, before he quit the show, and David Oyelowo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Bass Reeves.)
So what is going on here?
There are a few suspicions, sources say.
The first is that Sheridan is known for writing dramas that appeal to America's heartland, while many of the nominated shows are titles that likely appeal to the coasts and blue cities (such as The Studio, Hacks, The Bear and Severance). Calling Sheridan shows 'Red State' is over simplifying things — his heroes tend to be fiercely pro-environment, for instance. But sometimes Sheridan expresses political ideas via his lead characters in viral moments that bolster his dramas' conservative reputation (such as Yellowstone's John Dutton lecturing a vegan protester, or Thornton's oil company fixer Tommy Norris blasting green energy efforts).
At the same time, Sheridan's shows should be popular enough to penetrate even among Emmy voters — Landman earned higher ratings than of the shows nominated for best drama. And while Sheridan's writing can sometimes be a bit on the nose, even garish, for Television Academy voter taste, there is no denying the performances in his series are often extremely strong and worthy of consideration.
Another theory as to why Sheridan's shows get snubbed is that Paramount+ — having launched just four years ago — is still a relative newcomer to the awards season game. Fairly or no, a network's prestige aura can matter and Paramount+ is mostly seen as the streamer that does Star Trek shows and, well, Taylor Sheridan shows. It seems that if 1923 was on HBO, it might be seen differently. (This perception can also change quickly — once Hulu launched The Handmaid's Tale and Prime Video launched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for example, the respective streamers became regular members of the Emmy club.)
And finally, there's the reason you've been thinking: that Taylor Sheridan shows struggle during awards season because industry insiders don't particularly like Taylor Sheridan. The famously independent-minded and opinionated showrunner left Los Angeles years ago and now resides at his mammoth 270,000-acre Texas ranch. He writes his shows and remains almost entirely behind the scenes. Sheridan certainly doesn't participate in Emmy politicking — the very idea seems antithetical to his nature. And the times he has spoken out have often led to some backlash. It's impossible not to respect what he's accomplished — and continues to accomplish — but that doesn't mean the industry has to like him.
We'll never know if Landman would have gotten nominations if, say, John Wells was the showrunner. But it's easy to believe the show's odds would have been higher.
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