A True American Story: Meghan McCain on why non-Woke super-hit 'Yellowstone' will never win awards
Ever since it first premiered in 2018, Paramount's 'Yellowstone' was an instant hit with the audience. The show's success can be attested by its consistently high ratings averaging at 10.4 million viewers per episode, and the record-high ratings on the recently concluded season 4 finale episode.
Despite the show's success, the drama series hasn't gotten the same recognition or award-show nominations as many of its equally successful peers like say 'Game of Thrones', 'Succession', etc. In case you're wondering why then television personality and former 'The View' host Meghan McCain has the answer for you. Meghan blamed it on the show not being "woke" enough.
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Meghan penned an essay in a column on The Daily Mail explaining why the hit tv show won't ever win awards or grab the attention of the critics like 'Successor' despite capturing the "true soul of America'. She blamed it on the left-wing political dominance in the mainstream media. She wrote, "While left-wing political dominance is a problem across the media, nowhere is it more pronounced than in Hollywood. While there are actors and creators with right-of-center views, they have to hide their beliefs or risk the end of their careers."
She then touched upon 'Yellowstone's success amongst the audience but the shunning of it by the media. "It ('Yellowstone') just set a new ratings high with its Season 4 finale. It stars hugely talented actors, averages 10.4 million viewers an episode, and is the most-streamed series in America. It drives conversations among Americans to levels unseen since 'The Walking Dead' and 'Game of Thrones' – but from the perspective of Hollywood's leftist media, it might as well not exist. It's a Western, after all, and it's mostly about white people." "Three years after its launch, the show has turned into nothing short of a cultural phenomenon and a full-blown mass commercial success. However, it is not the type of cultural phenomenon media critics and commentators value as much as say, an HBO show like 'Succession'," she added.
She explained why she loves the Paramount show. "I love Yellowstone for a variety of reasons, it is a western soap opera set in what I consider one of the most beautiful locations in the entire world. The acting is fantastic, the characters are rich and flawed and Kevin Costner is the perfect main patriarch to run their family Dutton Ranch. It is executed authentically without losing a bit of the campy melodrama which makes it fun to watch."
"So why after all of Yellowstone's success is it still not given the same bona fides that series like Succession receive. Succession is a show I also watch and enjoy, but it has not achieved the commercial success of Yellowstone. You aren't seeing the cast members of Yellowstone host Saturday Night Live or trend on Twitter for long. The New Yorker is not writing complicated profiles of the cast like what recently happened to Succession's Jeremy Strong. The show hasn't won any major critical prizes and sadly most likely won't be nominated," she questioned. Meghan attributed it to the show not being "woke" enough or trying to lecture anyone about our culture. "The show isn't woke, it isn't trying to lecture anyone about everything that is wrong with our culture. It doesn't portray the elitist perspective of coastal television writers and where they think America should be going."
"Most Americans don't live in the blue bubbles of urban communities where Hollywood focuses their energies. They enjoy entertainment with values that they share and characters that they can relate to – and if that's something you'd rather ignore as a leftist in media, well, then maybe it's you who is living in the bubble," she concluded.
