Taylor Sheridan shows like ‘Landman’ and ‘Yellowstone’ are loved by all, but Emmys — and we think we know why
The Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, July 15, and it was another year for Taylor Sheridan to miss out on a big acceptance speech. Once again, the Emmys left out all of the highly acclaimed dramas coming from the creator, including the debut season of 'Landman'. As per reports, Paramount+ — which happens to be the home ground of Sheridan’s shows—had high hopes. While all of Sheridan’s series had their share of engaging drama, leaving fans speechless, only three out of six of his shows received nominations that too all within below-the-line departments. ‘Tulsa King’ and ‘Lioness’ were nominated for best stunts, while ‘1923’ was nominated for production design and costumes, leaving ‘Landman,’ ‘Mayor of Kingstown,’ and ‘Yellowstone’ out of the race.
The nomination campaigning was notable, with all the big names associated with Sheridan’s project— including Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, and Billy Bob Thornton—actively promoting the series throughout the season. Interestingly, Ford was recently nominated for his role in Apple TV+’s 'Shrinking', while Thornton earned a Golden Globe nod, making the snub for Sheridan’s series even more disheartening for fans. The nominations took a tough toll on the fans as ‘Landman’ was the highest rated show, when compared to those nominated in the best drama category.
Offering their speculations, a few sources believe several factors may have affected the nominations. One possibility is that Sheridan’s shows either appeal to America’s heartland or directly to the coasts of the United States. Another factor might be, although the leads in Sheridan’s shows seem to be pro-environment, oftentimes, political ideas are portrayed in the storyline. For instance, in ‘Yellowstone’, Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton, was seen lecturing a vegan protester; on the other hand, Thornton’s oil company fixer Tommy Norris was seen taking strict actions against green energy efforts.
Insiders also believe that Paramount+, being a relatively new streamer, might have held back shows from being nominated. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming platform is still believed to be the one that does ‘Star Trek’ shows—or, if not that, Sheridan shows. It's believed that if ‘1923’ had aired on HBO, the Emmy list might have looked a bit different. This speculation seems valid as Hulu became an Emmy regular when it launched ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ A similar case was noticed with Prime Video when it launched ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’
One of the last speculations that might have been bothering everyone is that the Emmys committee might not like Sheridan, as a person. For those unversed, the creator left Los Angeles years ago and is known to reside at his massive 270,000-acre Texas ranch. While coming up with his shows, Sheridan likes to stay away from the Hollywood talks and does not even participate in Emmy politicking, a routine that seems antithetical to his nature. On the other hand, whenever he has spoken out, his comments have created a buzz amongst the elite of the industry.
