Yellowstone fans banded together to fire back at Quentin Tarantino after the iconic director dismissed their favorite Western drama as little more than a âsoap opera.â
The online drama kicked off after the Pulp Fiction creator, 61, was asked to compare movies with modern TV shows during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
While Tarantino admitted that some recent TV series are âpretty good,â he argued they are never as âcompellingâ as feature films and used Yellowstoneâwhich recently saw the departure of Kevin Costnerâas his prime example.
âI didnât really get around to watching Yellowstoneâthe first three years or so. Then I watch the first season, and Iâm like, âWow, this is f****** great!â Iâve always been a big Kevin Costner fan, heâs f******wonderful in this,â Tarantino recalled. âAnd I get really caught up in the show, Iâm having a great time watching. And the first season, Iâm kind of talking like, âOh, this is like a big movie.ââ
He continued: âWhile Iâm watching it, Iâm compelled. But at the end of the day, itâs just a soap opera.â
And just to drive the point home, he added, âYou donât remember it five years from now,â which, naturally, set fans of the hit show on fire.

The backlash came fast and furious, with Yellowstone lovers flooding social media to defend their beloved series and call out Tarantino for his âdismissiveâ take.
One critic clapped back, âIs there anything that man does like besides his own work?â an another chimed in, âHe also loves to hear himself talk.â
Yet another even took aim at Quentinâs own recent Oscar-winning work, posting, âIn that case once upon a time in hollywood is a tv movie.
Despite the growing storm of criticism, Tarantino doubled down on his critique of the Yellowstone series during his podcast appearance
âYou are caught up in the minutia of the moment,â he argued. âThe difference is Iâll see a good western movie and Iâll remember it for the rest of my life. Iâll remember this scene or that scene and it built to an emotional climax of some degreeâŚ
âThereâs not a payoff on this (TV) stuff. Thereâs just more inter-connectional drama. And while Iâm watching it, thatâs good enough.
âBut when itâs over, I couldnât tell you (what happened). I can remember who the bad guy was in the first season of Yellowstone. But I donât remember any of the details of it, and I donât remember any of the bad guys for season two or season three.â
While the Yellowstone fanbase hit back, some listeners agreed with Tarantino, acknowledging that something might be missing in the long-form storytelling of modern TV.



âItâs an interesting thought. I tend to agree with him. Something is lost In these shows. But I tend to be a movie goer and biased in that regard,â am X user shared.
Tarantinoâs uproar comes after Yellowstone fans were less than thrilled with the latest episodeâs heavy focus on Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the show who also plays horse trainer Travis Wheatley.
The social media consensus was clear: Sheridan was taking up far too much of the action for a character whoâs little more than a bit part.
Many fans were quick to point out that this seemed intentionalânow that series star Costner is no longer part of the show.
Costner departed Yellowstone before part two of the final Season 5 in June, amid much drama, including rumors of a feud between him and Sheridan.
Now it seems Sheridan may have been making up for the absence of Costnerâs John Dutton with some screen time of his own, complete with a strip poker game that featured real-life supermodel Bella Hadid.
â15 minutes of story and scenes wasted with watching Taylor Sheridan showboat on his own show, partying and just doing his thing. Wouldnât be surprised if thatâs what he does in real life too,â wrote one unimpressed viewer.
Taylor also appeared in a pivotal role in the finale of his show Lioness on Sunday. And he had a role on the Yellowstone prequel 1883.

Another added, âAs if Taylor Sheridan wasted one of the last episodes of this show by inserting himself so he could parade around with half-naked women. We could have had 8 more episodes of Kevin Costner instead of this bs #Yellowstone.â
One fan lamented, âYeah, and theyâve treated the best actor on the show, @modernwest, Kevin Costner. He was willing to come back, and of course, Sheridanâs ego got in the way. What a sad end for John Duttonâs legacy.â
Someone else quipped, âBeing generous on the 15 minutes đ Felt more like an hour with 25 minutes of storylines that we actually want to see.â
The episode had all the subtlety of a neon sign flashing, according to another critic, as they commented, âThe episode was a look at me Iâm Taylor Sheridan. He may as well have Kevin Costner just come out of the shower at this point.â
As for the rumored feud between Taylor and Kevin, another follower chimed in, âI think now we know: what caused the fall out with Costner, oh boy Sheridan wanted to be the man lol, and I sure do miss Costner editing this guyâs terrible scripts.â




