Paramount’s unstoppable juggernaut of a cowboy-soap opera, Yellowstone, could not appear to be more American if the cattle featured within the show were branded with stars and stripes. British audiences may be hesitant to jump into a show seemingly solely about rich white Americans in buckskin hats driving all-terrain trucks around their ranches, but with the first four of its five seasons now on Netflix UK (it’s been on Paramount+ UK since 2022 but this is the bigger debut), we’re here to assure you that Yellowstone offers so much more than its neo-Western appearance indicates.
Here’s why it deserves to be your next streaming binge.
Shakespearean Family Dynamics
The Dutton family, Montana’s largest landowners, struggle as their ranch is being attacked from all directions. Politicians, massive developing conglomerates and First Nations communities all want to either reclaim or purloin a piece of the ranch. Yet somehow, co-creator Taylor Sheridan and his writing team made the Duttons seem small and relatable. Much like Breaking Bad or Peaky Blinders, it’s not about the rich getting richer, it’s about the Duttons maintaining the ranch that their family has bled for, and holding onto a three-generation dynasty.
The major strength of Yellowstone is the melodramatic relationship within the family. Like Succession, archetypal Shakespearean themes from King Lear and Hamlet play out against a contemporary backdrop. Patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) piles the pressure and expectations onto his children which creates recognisable and intriguing tension between siblings, most notably between only-daughter, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley).
John is not a perfect father, or even a good father. He has his own baggage and things to atone for with all his children, most notably his youngest son Kayce (Luke Grimes), but for many viewers there’s something very relatable about that. Regardless of how much land they own, or the six-figure salaries some of the Duttons are raking in, a family with a tremendous amount of love yet who also occasionally want to kill each other, makes for a strangely cathartic watch.
A Balanced Political Approach
Yellowstone could have easily been a glorified celebration of everything a global audience could hate about stereotypical America – violence, the divide in wealth, and especially gun culture. At times, that is certainly a focus. But as in so many of Sheridan’s works, he makes a valiant effort to forge storylines that represent important and well-rounded issues. In essence, he leaves politics aside, and the show’s superb writing reminds people that Sheridan’s Academy Award nomination for 2017’s Hell Or High Water was no fluke.
At the forefront of Yellowstone is the marginalization of First Nations communities including the Crow Nation and Lakota people. As a Canadian, these storylines held a particular resonance for me as Canada is similarly only beginning to scratch the surface on the horrific history associated with colonization and the mistreatment of our First Nations people. Viewers around the world though, will surely find their own parallels, and gain just as much from these tragic, compelling and educational stories. They’re crucial for the entire world to learn about, and the show should be applauded for its efforts in that regard.
Yellowstone portrays First Nations people in their struggle to reclaim their land, and shows them as equals and often partners with the Dutton family, in a quest to do what’s right for the land and to ensure the future of both of their lineages. Those storylines blend beautifully with the testosterone-driven cowboy aesthetic to give the show a unique combination of storylines.
Beth Dutton & Co.
Taylor Sheridan has also become known for writing some of the strongest female characters on television today. Look no further than Lioness with Zoe Saldaña and its cast of kick-ass militaristic women. In Yellowstone, and subsequently its prequels 1883 and 1923, Sheridan made a point of creating an entire bloodline of women who don’t take crap from anyone.
Most notably, there’s Beth Dutton. Beth is often synonymous with another word that begins with B, and that is part of the draw of the character. She can be polarizing. She can often be too much, or mean-spirited, or spiteful, but one thing she never is: weak.
Sheridan also takes care to show the specific struggle of First Nations women. Even a character like Monica (Kelsey Asbille), whom many Yellowstone fans consider to be one of the less successful, deals with the real-world topic of the disproportionate amount of crime perpetuated on First Nations women. Yellowstone subverts Cowboy-genre expectations by ensuring that its female characters aren’t there only in support of male action, but have their own plights and their own strength.
The Beauty of Montana
If this is a first-time watch, just sit back and embrace the splendour and culture of this fictional Montana. There is no doubt that Sheridan and the showrunners are in love with the purple mountains majesty that is America, and use the landscape as a secondary character.
While the chosen country music artist of the week serenades the audience with homespun melancholia, or an energizing country music train beat, Yellowstone uses epic establishing shots to transport viewers to some of the most breathtaking parts of Big Sky Country, which is a welcome departure from so many other shows on television. Not only does it demonstrate to audiences what the Duttons are fighting for, but it also shows what will happen to spots of land like this if corporate America gets its wish.
Yellowstone seasons one to four are streaming now on Netflix UK.
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