Taylor Sheridan’s 10-Part Epic Western Proves Why It’s His One True Masterpiece

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Published Mar 15, 2026, 9:42 AM EDT

Rohan Naahar is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Hit-maker Taylor Sheridan released his latest Paramount+ series this week to mostly positive reviews and typical viewership success. The new show, titled The Madison, was initially supposed to be a sequel to Sheridan's career-defining hit, Yellowstone. However, closer to The Madison's release, it was revealed that the show would not be a part of the Yellowstone universe. One possible reason is that Sheridan has severed ties with Paramount, signing a lucrative deal with NBCUniversal that will commence in a few years. However, his tenure at Paramount has been nothing but extraordinary. Sheridan not only delivered Yellowstone but also created a handful of other hit shows, many of which have aired multiple seasons over the years. His work, to put it simply, is sustaining an entire streaming platform. This is clear from even the briefest of glances at the Paramount+ viewership charts, which typically feature multiple Sheridan titles vying for the same positions. Now, one of his most acclaimed series has passed a major milestone.

The series was released five years ago in 2021, and for it to still be drawing audiences even though it ran for only 10 episodes is quite remarkable. It served as the first of Sheridan's two official prequels to Yellowstone, and traced the origins of the Dutton family's Montana ranch. It followed the great-grandfather of John Dutton III, played by Kevin Costner in Yellowstone, as he journeyed across the Wild West with his family. The show featured several protagonists, but was primarily told from the perspective of Elsa Dutton, the grandmother of Costner's character. Sheridan is largely known for his work in the neo-Western genre, but this gave him an opportunity to do what he had always wanted: to make a sprawling, old-fashioned Western. He was given a reported budget of nearly $170 million to realize his vision. It starred Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and breakout star Isabel May as Elsa. The show also featured cameos from Tom Hanks, Billy Bob Thornton, and Sheridan himself.

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Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone Universe Is Set to Expand

The show we're talking about, of course, is 1883. It is now sitting at a "Certified Fresh" 89% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "1883 can feel too overdetermined to be a properly rough-hewn Western, but viewers will want to saddle up for Sam Elliott's commanding star turn." 1883 was followed by the second Yellowstone prequel, the equally beloved 1923. A third show, tentatively titled 1944, is in the works. According to FlixPatrol, 1883 has now spent more than 50 days on the domestic PVOD charts over the last year. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.