Isn’t it funny how life throws curveballs that shake up everything only to clear the path for something better? Take Taylor Sheridan, for instance. This remarkable storyteller may not have exited Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy on the best terms, but that twist of fate opened the door to greener pastures—or, more accurately, vast Montana landscapes with a side of high-stakes drama.
After donning his leather jacket and stepping into the shoes of David Hale on Sons of Anarchy, things took a nosedive. Sheridan’s journey on the show didn’t wrap up with a grand finale; instead, it felt like a bumpy ride through a pothole-ridden road, complete with frustrations over creative differences. Rather than stew in disappointment, Sheridan decided to take the bull by the horns and pivot to writing.
This leap of faith resulted in the birth of Yellowstone, a series that has people raising eyebrows and drawing comparisons to Sons of Anarchy. Some fans even claim Sheridan borrowed more than just a few ideas!
Taylor Sheridan Can’t Escape Sons of Anarchy’s Influence in Yellowstone?
‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’, and if that’s true, then Taylor Sheridan must be bowing down to Kurt Sutter with every episode of Yellowstone. It’s hard not to draw parallels between Sons of Anarchy, the beloved biker saga, and Yellowstone, the reigning king of TV dramas. Both series dive headfirst into the murky waters of family, loyalty, and the lengths people will go to protect what’s theirs—even if it means a little illegal activity along the way.
Let’s break it down: Sons of Anarchy revs its engines with a motorcycle gang in sunny California, while Yellowstone saddles up on a sprawling ranch in Montana. But at their cores, they’re telling the same story: families fighting tooth and nail to keep their territory safe, even if that means a bit of bloodshed.
The Duttons, those rugged ranchers, are constantly battling to hold onto their land and power, while the SAMCRO gang (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original) sees themselves in a similar light, willing to go to great lengths to maintain control of their turf.
Fans are quick to point fingers, accusing Yellowstone of cribbing notes from Sons of Anarchy. One Reddit user put it perfectly:
Other fans humorously noted:
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And let’s not forget about the characters. Both shows feature star-crossed lovers caught between their dangerous lifestyles and their desire for a peaceful life for their kids. Jax and Tara from SoA have their drama, while Kayce and Monica from Yellowstone are no less tangled in their own web of chaos.
How Taylor Sheridan Transformed Rejection into a Hollywood Powerhouse
Taylor Sheridan, who kicked off his career riding high on Sons of Anarchy as Deputy Chief David Hale, later found himself getting tossed out like last week’s leftovers before Season 3. However, he knew he had to carve out his own niche in Tinseltown.
As he told Cowboys and Indians:
I wanted to tell stories that mattered to me, and not tell other people’s stories. I wanted to tell stories about my life and the lifestyle that I grew up in, and the world that I came from.
In a chat with Deadline (via Screen Rant) about his show 1883, Sheridan opened up about the “unfair wages” he faced on Sons of Anarchy, revealing that he earned “less than almost everyone else” on the cast. When his attorney pushed for a pay bump, they were met with the blunt response that Sheridan simply “wasn’t worth more”.
That was the final straw for Sheridan; it wasn’t just about the money anymore, but the disrespect he felt from the executives calling the shots behind the scenes.
Sheridan quickly realized Hollywood wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for the kind of stories he wanted to share. As he shared with Deadline:
There’s almost no exposition in my dialogue, and I intentionally broke a lot of rules of the structure of storytelling because I’d been held to them so long…
And break the rules he did! His very first script, Sicario, hit the scene like a runaway freight train, earning both critical acclaim and box office success. In just four months, he had a film featuring the likes of Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, grossing a whopping $85 million and snagging three Academy Award nominations.
Not one to rest on his laurels, he followed up with Hell or High Water, which earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Then came his pièce de résistance: directing his own screenplay, Wind River. And did we forget to mention Yellowstone?
Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock Premium, while Sons of Anarchy is available on Hulu.
