Quentin Tarantino is very vocal about his favorite (and least favorite) movies and TV shows, and he had particularly harsh words for the hit neo-Western series,Yellowstone. Though thePulp Fictionfilmmaker is most famous for making movies, he is also passionate about television, andTarantino famously directed twoCSIepisodes. He’s also given candid opinions about popular shows, and they often come as a surprise. For example,Tarantino lovesHow I Met Your Mother, but foundTrue Detectiveto be so “boring” that he didn’t even finish the pilot episode.
One show many have found anything but boring is Taylor Sheridan’sYellowstone, centered around the titular Montana ranch run by the ruthless Dutton family. For five seasons, the Duttons schemed, backstabbed, and even killed to keep their ranch away from those who wished to take it from them, withYellowstone’s explosive finale airing in December 2024. The show was so popular that anentireYellowstoneuniversewas created, with two prequel series and at least three sequel spinoffs in the works. But one person who likely won’t be watching anymoreYellowstoneshows is Quentin Tarantino.
Quentin Tarantino Dismissed Yellowstone As A “Soap Opera”
He Ultimately Finds The Series Forgettable
Right before theYellowstoneseries finalewas set to air, Quentin Tarantino appeared as a guest onThe Joe Rogan Experiencepodcast, and the topic of the beloved Western series came up. At first,Tarantino was complimentary ofYellowstone, particularly of season 1 and Taylor Sheridan’s writing. He said (viaVariety):
“I didn’t get around to watching it the first three years or so and then I watched the first season and I thought, ‘Wow, this is f***ing great. I’ve always been a Kevin Costner fan and he is wonderful in this.’ I got caught up in the show and I’m having a good time. The first season, it’s like a big movie. The guy who writes it is a good writer. There’s punchy monologues and stuff. I end up watching three seasons of it and I even watch that ‘1883.’ It’s a good Western show.”
However, that’s essentially where Tarantino’s kind words ended. While he acquiesced thatYellowstonewas entertaining as a whole — he even watched the1883prequel —he ultimately dismissed it as forgettable, dinging the show for its soap operatic qualities. Ultimately, he said he was,
…compelled and caught up in it, but at the end of the day it’s all just a soap opera. They’ve introduced you to a bunch of characters. You know their backstories and connections to everyone else… you don’t remember it five years from now. You’re only caught up in the minutia of it in the moment.
The difference is I’ll see a good Western movie, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. I’ll remember the story, this scene and that scene. It built to an emotional climax of some degree. The story is good. It’s not just about the interpersonal relationships. But there’s a payoff to it. There is not a payoff on TV stuff. It’s more interconnected drama. While I am watching, that is good enough. But when it’s over, I couldn’t tell you [what happened].
In true Tarantino fashion, he went on to cite a show that hedidfind had similar emotional cinematic qualities to a movie, and that wasHomeland, specifically season 1.Homelandstarred Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison as a CIA officer hiding her bipolar disorder, and it ran for seven seasons, from 2011-2020 on Showtime.
John Dutton Actor Kevin Costner Echoed Tarantino’s Comments But In A Loving Way
He Joked About The Fate The Duttons Deserved
Kevin Costner famously departedYellowstoneon a wave of controversy prior to the series finale, forcing the show to prematurely kill off his protagonist character, John Dutton, the family patriarch. However, while he may have issues with the Taylor Sheridan series behind the scenes,Costner has continually sung the praises ofYellowstoneand its high quality.
In a recent interview withET,Costner candidly shared his thoughts on theYellowstonefinalewhile also taking the opportunity to address where he thinks the show excelled. He said,
“Well, it’s modern-day ranching. Yellowstone was able to capture that really so beautifully. I mean,it’s a bit of a soap opera. I mean, we all should be in prison.”
It’s interesting that Costner echoed Tarantino’s sentiment ofYellowstonebeing a soap opera, but he really seems to be speaking to what drew audiences in and kept us there across five seasons. The John Dutton actor is absolutely right that the main characters should all be put behind bars for the many felonies they committed, butthat’s the fun part of the show.
It’s thanks to the show’s dramatic plotlines that viewers also get a slice of what real cowboy life is like, alongside the Duttons' many trips to the train station.
IfYellowstonewere solely about the authenticity of modern-day ranching, it wouldn’t have been nearly as popular, but it’s thanks to the show’s dramatic plotlines that viewers also get a slice of what real cowboy life is like — alongside theDuttons' many trips to the train station.
We’ll Certainly Remember The Duttons “Five Years From Now”
Their Family Saga Is What Made Yellowstone So Compelling
As much as I admire theOnce Upon a Time in Hollywooddirector and loveall of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, I think thathis oft-expressed love of the Western genre gives him a bias againstYellowstone. From his comments, it seems like he judges TV shows based on their ability to be like movies, but the fact is that they’re different mediums, so this criteria for what makes a good show isn’t entirely fair.Yellowstoneis a whole different beast than the classic Westerns that Tarantino holds so dear, but that doesn’t diminish its quality.
As for what makes something memorable “five years from now,” that’s all a matter of taste.Yellowstonepremiered in 2018, and there are still scenes from its early seasons that live rent-free in my head, most of which are soap operatic in quality, fromBeth coming to Monica’s aid in the boutique sceneto the entire Beck brothers storyline.
Speaking of the Beck brothers, they are some of thebest villains in any Taylor Sheridan show, but Tarantino also dismissed them as forgettable. In the interview, he said he remembered Danny Huston as the season 1 villains because he’s a fan of the actor, but, “I don’t remember the bad guys for Season 2 or Season 3. It’s out of my head. It’s completely gone.” Ultimately,it’s fine that Quentin Tarantino doesn’t feel the same way aboutYellowstoneas the fandom. I’m still excited for his tenth movie — though maybe not as much as for the Beth and Rip spinoff.
