They say, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”, but if you’re watching Yellowstone, it’s hard not to see the plot’s hidden pages—especially those lifted straight from The Godfather. Taylor Sheridan’s hit TV series has long sported its influences like a cowboy wearing spurs, and now, even the most casual viewers are spotting the family feud parallels with Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary mafia saga.
And for those scratching their heads, here’s a nugget of trivia: Sheridan’s original pitch for Yellowstone as ‘The Godfather in Montana’ didn’t exactly knock the socks off HBO executives. But against all odds, the show has transformed skeptics into devoted fans. And just when you thought the drama was at its peak, Sheridan’s gearing up to bring us the fifth and final season by this year’s end.
HBO Brushed Off Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Pitch as ‘Too Middle America’
Last year, Taylor Sheridan, the mastermind behind Yellowstone, spilled the beans to The Hollywood Reporter about how HBO fumbled the ball on his neo-Western masterpiece. His pitch for the series was to reimagine it as ‘The Godfather set in Montana’.
But HBO, under the watchful eye of then-programming president Michael Lombardo, didn’t exactly see eye to eye. Despite Sheridan’s grand vision and his suggestion of Kevin Costner to play the patriarch, John Dutton, they had their sights set on Robert Redford.
Sheridan recalled:
They said, ‘If you can get us Robert Redford, we’ll greenlight the pilot’.
Soon after, Sheridan and co-creator John Linson were summoned to lunch in West L.A. for a conversation with HBO’s bigwigs. The former recounted the meeting, saying:
John Linson finally asks, ‘Why don’t you want to make it?’ And the VP goes, ‘Look, it just feels so Middle America. We’re HBO, we’re avant-garde, we’re trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think anyone should be living out there [in rural Montana]. It should be a park or something’.
The studio even took issue with the beloved character, Beth Dutton, suggesting she was “too abrasive” and that “women won’t like her.” It wasn’t until Lombardo’s exit in 2016 that Sheridan got another shot and eventually landed Yellowstone at Paramount Network.
The Godfather Influence: What Fans See in Yellowstone’s Characters
When it comes to family drama, it’s clear that Yellowstone and Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Godfather are cut from the same cloth—though it’s a cloth that’s seen a fair share of bloodstains and broken family ties. The Duttons and Corleones are not just similar in their roster of four children—three boys and one girl—but also in their high-stakes power plays & family feuds.
In the Corleone camp, you’ve got Santino ‘Sonny’ (James Caan), the hot-headed eldest who’s itching to take over his father’s empire. This fiery nature is reflected in the Dutton clan, particularly in their eldest son, Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), and their daughter, Beth (Kelly Reilly).
But the similarities don’t stop there. The real meat of the matter lies in the parallels between the patriarchs of these two dynasties. Just as Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) & his son Michael (Al Pacino) are embroiled in a complex father-son dynamic and a struggle to protect their empire, John Dutton III (Kevin Costner) & his son Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) are steering their own rocky path.
Meanwhile, fans of Yellowstone are quick to point out how the Duttons’ evolving ruthlessness is a direct result of their relentless struggle to keep their land. It’s as if the land itself is cursed, with each generation of Duttons becoming tougher and meaner to fend off threats. As one fan pointed out:
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Let’s see what some other fans are saying:
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So, while HBO may have missed the bus, Sheridan’s Yellowstone rode into the sunset of success, proving that sometimes, when one door closes, a whole ranch of opportunities opens up. Yet, without Kevin Costner at the helm, the fate of the Dutton family and the entire Yellowstone saga teeters on a knife’s edge.
The second half of Yellowstone Season 5 is set to air on November 10, 2024.
You can currently stream Yellowstone on Paramount+.
