Taylor Sheridan Actually Got Robert Redford For Yellowstone to Please HBO (It Didn’t Work)

Although Yellowstone has proven to be a huge success over the years, with many spin-offs and numerous rumors surrounding the cast and crew, it didn't always sound so promising.

If anything, it had every chance of never being aired if it weren't for Taylor Sheridan 's dedication to making it happen the way he sees it, no matter the cost.

One network that the creator of Yellowstone tried very hard to convince to give it a chance was HBO. But the business meetings didn't go as well as he thought they would, as executives weren't too impressed with the premise of the show and didn't think it fit the image of the network they were building.

Not only were they vague about the reasons for their rejection, Sheridan confirmed in his latest interview with The Hollywood Reporter, but they also asked him to do the impossible... only to reject the result afterward.

The only way the network would accept Yellowstone, Sheridan was told, was if he could get Robert Redford to play the Dutton family patriarch.

Although the task was challenging enough, Taylor Sheridan succeeded. However, as he was later told, they never meant Robert Redford literally – just someone of his type.

At this point, it was clear that HBO was just looking for excuses not to release the show, and it was only a matter of time and persistence before the real issue would come out.

“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,” Taylor Sheridan recalls the lunch with HBO’s vp that put everything into place.

Neither Taylor Sheridan nor John Linson's combined creative vision, nor even Robert Redford could convince the network to see the potential in a story that just didn't seem to fit into the development narrative they had.

Fortunately, it all worked out for the best, as Yellowstone has found a home on the Paramount Network.

After all the drama surrounding the show, Yellowstone is set to return in November. Whether this will happen or not, and how many episodes it will take to close this chapter is still unclear. Stay tuned for more news and updates!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter