Taylor Sheridan is quickly becoming the Nicolas Cage of TV shows

Published Oct 15, 2026, 9:37 AM EDT After graduating from Marist University with a degree in communications and journalism, Dan Girolamo has over 10 years of experience writing about entertainment and sports. Dan's work can be seen in various publications, including Digital Trends, SportsCasting, and Tom's Guide. Throughout his career, Dan has interviewed several high-profile filmmakers and creatives, including Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Caitriona Balfe, Frank Grillo, Miranda Cosgrove, Jai Courtney, Chris Columbus and James Cameron. Dan joins How-To Geek as a Senior Editor. When he's not writing about entertainment, Dan is either watching a movie or praying for the New York Knicks to win a championship. Taylor Sheridan is in the empire business. Over the last eight years, Sheridan has built a roster of television shows that few creators can match. From building the Yellowstone universe to establishing a signature aesthetic, Sheridan's shows are uniquely his. When fans see Sheridan's name attached to a project, they know what they're going to get. Sheridan's impact on pop culture and the television landscape reminds me of one eccentric actor: Nicolas Cage. What Sheridan has done for television reminds me of what Cage has done for movies. For better or worse, both Sheridan and Cage want to do things their way, and they don't intend to change for anyone. Unmatched volume and pace How do these men sleep? To my knowledge, NZT-48, the drug in Limitless that increases the brain activity of Bradley Cooper's character, does not exist. Then again, I'm not in Hollywood's most powerful circles, so it wouldn't surprise me if the elites had something that gave them a mental edge over the common folk. Cage and Sheridan work so much that I can only explain their productivity by accusing them of taking NZT-48. According to IMDb, Cage has 131 acting credits to his name. Cage has appeared in at least one movie or television show every year since 1989. From 2017 to 2019, Cage starred in six to seven movies per year. For comparison, Daniel Day-Lewis has only acted in seven movies this century. Cage's financial problems allegedly played a role in his high output of movies since 2010. Many of his direct-to-video movies felt like cash grabs, but hey, this is a man who respects the American dollar. Cage even crossed over into streaming television this past year, headlining Prime Video's Spider-Noir. Once Cage entered streaming, he entered a streaming landscape dominated by Sheridan. After working primarily as an actor, Sheridan decided to tell his own stories and transitioned into screenwriting after his time on Sons of Anarchy. Sheridan's first feature script was 2015's Sicario, followed by 2016's Hell or High Water and 2017's Wind River. In 2018, everything changed for Sheridan with Yellowstone, a modern Western he co-created with John Linson. The melodramatic soap opera set in Montana exploded in popularity during the pandemic, turning Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Luke Grimes into TV stars. It's not that Sheridan just co-created Yellowstone. Sheridan wrote nearly every episode of Yellowstone. Sheridan shares a few writing credits with other writers in the first two seasons, but he becomes the sole screenwriter from season 3 through the series finale. Yellowstone was only the beginning. Sheridan created several Yellowstone spin-offs, such as 1883 and 1923. He's attached as an executive producer to the additional Yellowstone series Dutton Ranch and Marshals. Outside of Yellowstone, Sheridan's roster of shows at Paramount+ includes Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Lioness, Landman, The Madison, and the upcoming Frisco King. I can't speak to Sheridan's financial motivations, but he is leaving Paramount to make shows and movies for NBCUniversal in a deal that could reach as much as $1 billion. So, like Cage, Sheridan also sounds like he respects the American dollar. Unmistakable styles and aesthetic Cage and Sheridan play the hits Credit: Neon When I watch a Cage movie, I'm not looking for restrained and subtle. I'll watch a Cillian Murphy performance if I have to watch an actor who works best in the quieter moments. If Cage is the star, I don't want a safety net. I want the outlandish, colorful, and absurd version of Cage. Cage treats every moment onscreen like it's his only appearance in the movie. With that attitude in mind, he brings a larger-than-life presence to his acting. In a strange way, it makes sense. Acting is all about playing characters. If you were playing yourself, that wouldn't be acting. Therefore, acting requires a transformation, which is something Cage takes seriously. Some of Cage's notable character transformations include 1988's Vampire's Kiss, where he ate a live cockroach; 1995's Leaving Las Vegas, where he videotaped himself while drinking to learn the speech patterns of an alcholic; 2002's Adaptation, where he played twins, wore a fat suit, and altered his hairline; and 2021's Pig, where he learned to cook like a professional chef. Once the director yells, "Action!" that's where Cage's real magic begins. Cage makes fearless decisions; the more outrageous, the better. I'll always remember his ridiculous facial expressions in Face/Off, his exaggerated screaming in Mandy, his nightmarish voice in Longlegs, and his outbursts in Matchstick Men. Cage is a first-ballot Hall of Famer when it comes to meme culture. Just like Cage's distinct style, Sheridan has created his own brand of television. Sheridan's shows are gritty, masculine Westerns or crime dramas. Sheridan has a punk-rock edge to his writing, as though he's trying to stick it to Hollywood. That's essentially what he did in Yellowstone, a plotless show that broke conventional TV rules by combining multiple genres and presenting it like a movie. It's no surprise that this attitude and writing style attract many A-list actors. I understand why Sylvester Stallone, an iconic star known for his hyper-masculine roles, would gravitate toward playing a mafia capo in Tulsa King. I get why Zoe Saldaña, a blockbuster star capable of headlining action movies, would want to play a female version of James Bond in Lioness. If there's one thing Sheridan truly understands about writing, it's how to make his A-list actor look like a star onscreen. Unafraid to be polarizing Critics don't matter to these performers Whenever someone involved in a show or movie denies reading reviews, I take it with a huge grain of salt. If you use the internet and work in Hollywood, I don't know how you can avoid reviews or online chatter about a project. The key is to not let these reviews define you or influence your decision-making. Cage and Sheridan are polarizing figures for different reasons. Cage's extravagance and Sheridan's arrogance can rub people the wrong way. We're over 30 years since Cage won an Oscar. Those critic scores have predominantly gone down. Am I thrilled that Cage, an actor I like, spent most of the 2010s in movies people have never heard of unless they've visited a Redbox? No. Sheridan also has a rocky relationship with critics. He "rage-baits" them—his words, not mine. Do I believe Sheridan's writing can get somewhat repetitive and would benefit from having another collaborator on his scripts? I do. I respect Cage and Sheridan for doubling down on their beliefs and sticking to their guns. It certainly helps to have the clout and fortune of these two to take these risks. They can say what they want, and they'll be fine. Besides, I don't need Cage and Sheridan to play by the rules. Things are more interesting when Cage and Sheridan hit the press tours and say whatever is on their minds. Watch these shows and movies if you like Taylor Sheridan and Nicolas Cage If you have Paramount+, you'll have most of Sheridan's shows at your disposal. If you're searching for a Yellowstone replacement, try The Madison, a Michelle Pfeiffer-led drama about grief and trauma. For Cage, get ready for Madden, Prime Video's football movie where Cage plays John Madden. It hits the streamer on Nov. 18.