1883’s Sam Elliott criticizes Yellowstone for being a soap opera

Sam Elliott is full of hot takes lately! Fresh off his colorful comments about Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, the actor is now criticizing the hit series Yellowstone, despite starring on the prequel spinoff, 1883.

The comments actually come from the same interview in which he criticized The Power of the Dog on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. Elliott compared Yellowstone to Dallas, a primetime soap opera that aired from 1978 to 1991. While he praised Kevin Costner and the rest of the cast, he seems to have no love for the overall vibe of the series:

“I’m not a Yellowstone fan. I don’t watch Yellowstone. I love Costner. There’s a lot of good people on the cast, a few of them I’ve worked with before — nothing against any of them — but it’s just too much like f—ing Dallas or something for me.”

I don’t watch Yellowstone but I have heard the soap opera/Dallas comparisons before. I suppose it’s not a bad comparison since Dallas was one of the most popular series on television during some of its run, something Yellowstone appears to be mirroring. The shows do offer up some similarities. Dallas tells the story of a wealthy Texas oil baron named J.R. Ewing, who manipulates those around him to achieve his goals. Yellowstone also features shifting alliances and it’s a family drama with patriarchs trying to maintain control of their empires. The key difference between the two shows is tone. Dallas tended to lean into its soapy DNA often while Yellowstone, from what I’ve heard, is a more serious drama.

I do find his assertion interesting since he appears on the Yellowstone spinoff prequel series, 1883. I know that show is much different in tone from Yellowstone and probably does Westerns in a way that appeases Elliott and his sensibilities. That being said, both shows come from Taylor Sheridan so it would be interesting to hear his thoughts on what Elliott had to say about the parent series.

What are YOUR thoughts on Sam Elliott’s assertions about Yellowstone?