Taylor Sheridan Has Officially Avoided The Fate Of TV’s #1 Modern-Day Western

Published Oct 17, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT After 18 months at Screen Rant, Guy became Classic TV Editor in September 2026, and specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and editing several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy, crime, historical drama, Westerns, and political thrillers. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise has expanded into new territory this year, as the TV Western’s third and fourth spinoff series continue its story. These series inevitably come with considerable risks, eight years on from our initial introduction to the Dutton family. In this regard, it’s worth highlighting the case of television’s most popular modern Western. At this stage, it appears as though Yellowstone and its spinoffs managed to avoid the fate that befell another family of ranchers who dominated the small screen four decades ago. By many measures, Dallas remains the most popular Western series in TV history. It could be argued that, as a soap opera, this show doesn’t really belong in the Western genre. Yet, precisely the same claim has been levelled at Yellowstone, which many viewers consider the archetypal contemporary Western show of the past decade. These two ratings juggernauts have a great deal in common, from storylines centering on sensational family melodrama, to the sprawling screen universes they both construct in modern-day Western settings. The rise and fall of Dallas as a network behemoth in the 1980s contains some critical lessons for Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone. In the space of just seven years, it went from a show commanding a global audience of 300 million (via Los Angeles Times), with a legendary plot twist that changed television history, to a caricature of its former self plummeting down the audience rankings. Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Universe Is Rapidly Expanding By the mid-1980s, Dallas had arguably become too big for its own good, and the only way was down. Its decline is a cautionary tale for the Yellowstone franchise, which is now growing more rapidly than ever before. Following the conclusion of the main series in November 2024, Taylor Sheridan has overseen the development of the spinoffs Marshals and Dutton Ranch, which arrived on our screens earlier this year. Add to them the completed prequel series 1883 and 1923, and 1944, a further prequel currently in development, and it’s clear why there are concerns that this giant TV universe is becoming increasingly unwieldy. Yellowstone is opening itself up to the same issues that plagued Dallas 40 years ago. Yellowstone Series Seasons Year(s) Rotten Tomatoes Score Yellowstone 5 2018–2024 83% 1883 1 2021–2022 89% 1923 2 2022–2025 94% Marshals TBC 2026–present 48% Dutton Ranch TBC 2026–present 90% But for the time being, at least, the franchise’s expansion appears to be relatively plain sailing. Marshals broke a network television viewership record which had stood for eight years with its CBS debut back in March, while Dutton Ranch has already become one of the most-watched series in the history of Paramount+. What’s more, Yellowstone’s franchise expansion generally received good reviews from critics, Marshals aside. The franchise spinoffs are viewed as substantial additions to its TV universe, with their own compelling characters, plots, and tonal shifts away from the soapy melodrama of the main series. Yellowstone Has So Far Avoided The Fate Of Dallas In The 1980s Up to this point, then, Yellowstone has steered clear of the pitfalls that did for Dallas in the second half of the 1980s. It’s now just over eight years since Taylor Sheridan’s flagship TV Western premiered on Paramount. It was at this very moment in its history that Dallas aired its preposterous “dream season” reveal, which is now remembered as the episode when the iconic series officially jumped the shark. Fan-favorite character Bobby Ewing, played by Patrick Duffy, had been killed off in the finale of the previous season a year earlier, but was suddenly revealed to be alive, with the entirety of season 9 having been a nightmare dreamt by his wife, Pam. At that moment, Dallas went from changing TV history for the better to setting it back for years to come. Six years earlier, the show’s 1980 “Who shot J.R.?” had captivated viewers the world over, with November 21’s episode “Who Done It” drawing what remains the second-biggest audience for scripted television in American history. In the years that followed, major cast departures and multiple failed spinoffs precipitated the downfall of Dallas. It was clear, too, that the show’s writers were running out of ideas, and increasingly outlandish storylines culminated in the disastrous “Dream Season” between 1985 and 1986, which turned off legions of fans. It didn’t help matters that Dallas was facing stiffer competition than ever before in its regular timeslot at the time, most notably from The Cosby Show on NBC. Most-Watched TV Episodes In U.S. Network History Series Viewing Figures Network Year "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" M*A*S*H 106 million CBS 1983 "Who Done It" Dallas 83.6 million CBS 1980 "One for the Road" Cheers 80.5 million NBC 1993 "Part VIII" Roots 76.7 million ABC 1977 "The Finale" Seinfeld 76.3 million NBC 1998 1986 was the year that ratings began to fall off, as it slipped down to #6 in network rankings, having commanded the top two spots throughout the decade up to that point. By its 14th and final season, the show was 61st in the rankings, and averaged fewer than 17 million viewers, which was around half the average of its early-eighties peak. This is a fate that Yellowstone itself never suffered as a series, as its audience continued to grow into its final season. In fact, Yellowstone’s series finale broke the viewership record for the show, with over 13 million people watching it across three days. In terms of raw numbers, this doesn’t compare with what Dallas achieved in the days before the main TV networks faced competition from cable and streaming. But for a show primarily viewed on a streaming platform with a relatively small market share in the mid-2020s, it’s a huge achievement. Similarly, both Marshals and Dutton Ranch have started off with significantly bigger viewing figures than Yellowstone managed in its early seasons. Far from falling off, Taylor Sheridan’s franchise is still in the ascendancy, and feels like it still has several more years of success to come. Why Yellowstone Is Succeeding Where Dallas Failed After eight seasons, Dallas found itself in a hole that nobody could dig it out of. While the show tried to undo its risky decision to kill off Bobby Ewing, its dream explanation only made things worse. So did the attempt to launch a prequel spinoff Dallas: The Early Years, which was cancelled when its feature-length backdoor pilot flopped, and earlier clone series such as Secrets of Midland Heights. Dallas did launch a successful spinoff in 1979, just 18 months after it first arrived on the air. Knots Landing had little to do with its parent series after its early years, however, and it also began to lose momentum and slip down the ratings charts in the second half of the 1980s. It’s fair to say that Dallas never really recovered from the loss of family patriarch Jock Ewing in 1981, due to the death of actor Jim Davis, and the temporary departure of Ellie Ewing actor Barbara Bel Geddes for health reasons in 1984. Patrick Duffy’s exit soon after didn’t help matters, either. Yellowstone arguably found itself in a similarly tricky position when Kevin Costner, who played family patriarch John Dutton, departed the show halfway through its fifth season. In contrast to Dallas, though, it didn’t try to struggle on without him. Taylor Sheridan decided to wrap up the series at the end of season 5, ensuring that it went out with a bang, at the height of its popularity, without overstaying its welcome. Meanwhile, Yellowstone’s spinoffs have come late into or after its run on the small screen, allowing for more storytelling continuity within the franchise. They have all debuted during a period when the parent show’s popularity could guarantee large audiences, ensuring that there’s a loyal fanbase prepared to buy into these additional releases and make them into rating hits. Crucially, 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch all have distinct settings, characters, and tones. They’re clearly all part of the same universe, but they each bring something different to the table. In this way, Yellowstone has succeeded where Dallas failed. Taylor Sheridan has built an expansive yet coherent story world that audiences still can’t seem to get enough of, eight years after it was born. Dallas Release Date 1978 - 1991-00-00 Network CBS One of the most popular soap opera series of all time, Dallas aired in 1978 as a part of CBS' line up and follows the wealthy oil baron family, the Ewings, as those from within and close to them plot and scheme their way to the top of the social ladder. The series ran for fourteen seasons before it concluded in 1991. Yellowstone Created by Taylor Sheridan First TV Show Yellowstone Latest TV Show 1923 Upcoming TV Shows The Madison First Episode Air Date June 20, 2018 Cast Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Danny Huston Yellowstone is a neo-Western drama series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, centered on the Dutton family and their fight to protect the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch from various adversaries, including land developers and nearby reservations. Premiering in 2018 on Paramount Network, the show has been praised for its depiction of power struggles, family loyalty, and rural conflicts. It has expanded into a franchise with spin-offs such as 1883 and 1923, and an upcoming sequel series is in development.