The Yellowstone universe is thriving, with a whopping six spinoff shows in the hopper and "three or four more" prequels still to be announced. For franchise creator Taylor Sheridan, who often works 18-hour days churning out scripts, the Dutton-verse is a money-making means to a very noble end: Saving the historic Four Sixes Ranch, which he purchased for $350 million last year.
Taylor Sheridan wanted to remain a "hired gun" at Paramount, the network that airs his mega-hit Yellowstone. But when the legendary Four Sixes Ranch came up for sale in 2019, the prolific producer signed an expansive new contract with Paramount to fund his purchase.
For a reported $200 million, Sheridan would create a staggering number of Yellowstone prequels and sequels (1883, 1923, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and the like). And he has some regrets: "Business-wise, it was a terrible decision," he told The Hollywood Reporter in a June 21 interview.
Sheridan based Yellowstone's Dutton Ranch on the historic Four Sixes Ranch in the Texas panhandle, which had been controlled by a single family for generations. When the Four Sixes (or the 6666, as it's called on Yellowstone) came up for sale, Sheridan signed an overall deal at Paramount so that he could purchase it — and keep it from being parceled off.
"I was real rich for 45 minutes," Sheridan said of his blockbuster contract with the studio, which he immediately spent on the 6666. "Then I was broke again. That was the trade."
Sheridan finalized the purchase last year, and maintaining the 270,000-acre property has been a "constant fight."
"This ranch looks like it did 150 years ago, and it's a constant fight," he told the outlet. "Someone's got to take care of it. I felt a duty."
That fight includes making good on his Paramount deal by churning out Yellowstone content at an "impossible" pace. The prolific writer-producer filmed his wagon train epic 1883 in a matter of months, shooting six (sometimes seven) days a week to make the December 2021 premiere date.
Sheridan says his frenzied attention to 1883 delayed the debut of Yellowstone Season 5. But he vows not to let further production pressures impact his storytelling — or his beloved Four Sixes Ranch, for that matter.
The previously announced Four Sixes Yellowstone spinoff is currently on hold, Sheridan said, because he refuses to jeopardize ranch operations for the sake of a TV show:
"[The Four Sixes spinoff series], for a number of reasons, needs a unique level of special care because this is a real place with real families working here. You have to respect the lineage. I've told [the studio] to be patient."
Sheridan went on to express his hope that the Yellowstone universe would save the rancher way of life and spur the public to protect natural resources — like the stunning mountains of Montana, where Yellowstone is filmed. But he's not so sure Yellowstone will have the staying power to accomplish that feat.
"I thought I had tricked people by showing a world worth protecting. But when the show is over, that notion will go away and there will be a new shiny penny everyone watches. So I felt like I didn't accomplish anything — which, for me, is really important."
Hence, Sheridan's mission to keep the Four Sixes intact. Much like John Dutton, the entertainment mogul doesn't want the historic ranch sold off bit-by-bit. If that means he has to isolate himself in his writing "bunker" everyday dreaming up new dramas for the Dutton dynasty, then so be it.
"I do the shows for the ranch," he said.
