Few creators in Hollywood have defined a genre quite like Taylor Sheridan, the powerhouse behind Yellowstone and its sprawling neo-Western universe. From his gripping American Frontier film trilogy — including Wind River, which he also directed — to launching one of television’s biggest modern dramas, Sheridan’s career is built on creative precision, intensity, and absolute control.

But for all of his success, Sheridan’s refusal to use a traditional writers’ room has long fascinated fans and industry insiders alike. Why does one of TV’s most successful showrunners insist on writing his projects alone?

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Sheridan Tried the Writers’ Room — Once

In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan explained that his initial plan for Yellowstone looked very different.

“The plan was I would Greg Berlanti it,” he said. “I would write, cast, and direct the pilots, and then we would bring in someone as a showrunner to run a writers’ room, and I could check in and guide them.”

But that plan collapsed early on. Sheridan quickly realized that no one — not even experienced showrunners — truly understood the Dutton family and their complicated moral code the way he did.

Season 2 was the only Yellowstone season to feature multiple writers, yet Sheridan still revised every script to fit his vision.

“A writer always wants to take ownership of something they’re writing,” Sheridan explained. “If I give this directive and they’re not feeling it, they’re going to come up with their own qualities. So for me, writers’ rooms… they haven’t worked.”

That perfectionism is part of why Paramount reportedly paid Sheridan millions to film Yellowstone on his own ranch — he wanted every detail, down to the setting, under his control.

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He Always Knew How Yellowstone Would End

Sheridan’s obsessive storytelling stems from one thing: passion.

“I’m one of those people that’s incapable of doing something that’s not tethered to 100% of my passion,” he told THR.

From day one, Sheridan claimed he knew how Yellowstone would end — including the death of John Dutton, regardless of Kevin Costner’s real-world exit.

“It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it,” Sheridan said of Costner’s early departure.

The finale, in which the Dutton family ultimately gives up their land to the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, was always his intended ending. Executive producer David Glasser confirmed:

“Day one, episode one, Taylor said, ‘I know exactly how this ends.’”

Through 1883 and 1923, Sheridan foreshadowed the Duttons’ downfall — weaving a generational narrative that only he fully understood.

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But He’s Finally Loosening His Grip

While Sheridan’s name remains synonymous with total creative control, recent years show him reconsidering collaboration.

For example, he isn’t the sole creative force behind Y: Marshals, the upcoming CBS sequel series following Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes). Sheridan serves as an executive producer, but SEAL Team’s Spencer Hudnut will act as showrunner.

Sheridan has also stepped back from writing duties on Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and Lawmen: Bass Reeves — though he maintains oversight as a producer.

Still, his most personal projects, like Lioness and Landman, are fully written by him.

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The Bottom Line

Taylor Sheridan’s approach to writing is both his greatest strength and his biggest risk. His refusal to compromise has produced some of television’s most gripping storytelling — but it’s also what makes his process so demanding, both for himself and those who work with him.

For Sheridan, it’s simple: the world of Yellowstone — and the hearts of the Duttons — belong to him alone.

“I can’t tell a story unless I live it,” Sheridan once said. “And no one can live it the way I do.”