Taylor Sheridan seems to have hit a bit of a rut following the Yellowstone fiasco. Fans pointed out significant flaws in his recent writing. Sheridan also faced backlash for his portrayal of Travis Wheatley, an extended cameo that fans didn’t ask for. Just like Yellowstone‘s largely forgettable finale, his latest series Landman drew criticism for its over-the-top and cringeworthy scenes.
Landman, which wrapped up its first season last Sunday, was also accused of borrowing heavily from Yellowstone. Several characters and story arcs felt like rehashes of Sheridan’s seminal Western drama.
One particular criticism of Landman was its excessive use of product placement. Fans aren’t happy with it as the later seasons of Yellowstone became notorious for shamelessly plugging various brands.
The product placements in Taylor Sheridan’s Landman are truly embarrassing and fans absolutely hate it
Taylor Sheridan has got to stop making his series episodes into hour-long commercials. A vocal criticism against his earlier series Yellowstone, the brand-plugging issue has found its way to his latest series Landman as well. While the occasional cringe or overly s*xual scenes already make Landman a hard watch, the several brand labels just kill the viewing experience.
A Redditor has noted the presence of brands like Michelob Ultra, Modelo, Levi’s, and Dr Pepper within the show’s narrative on the screen. It has an intrusive nature to it and an average viewer, who just wants to enjoy the show, doesn’t want these products shoved upon them. As the Reddit fan mentions, everything is “a dang ad” in Sheridan’s shows.
Started watching Landman…having a bit of deja vu.
byu/unbalancedcentrifuge inYellowstonePN
The sentiment is not isolated as another Reddit fan sarcastically shared that they couldn’t wait for Landman-branded cigarettes and a frozen meal version of what the characters ate in the show. It is not far-fetched considering all the things that Sheridan’s previous show Yellowstone productized.
The Kevin Costner-led drama received flak for its heavy-handed product placements. There are only so many times that fans can stare at the frequent and conspicuous ads for Buffalo Trace, Coors, or Sheridan’s 6666 ranch products. Fans raised these issues during the run of the show, with one commenting (via Cowboy State Daily):
Product placement is all that’s left of Yellowstone. Boy howdy a cowboy sure does like sleeping on Bol & Branch sheets and sending Shari’s Berries to his mother just in time for her birthday, yee-haw pass me a Cherry-Coke-Zero and some Pringle’s potato crisps.
Another fan commented after a Yellowstone episode, “Wasted 30 minutes for product placement!!! If this continues on, I think I won’t finish the series!” Despite the outright criticism, it appears that Sheridan has no plans to put a stop to it.
Overt product placement badly affects storytelling in both Yellowstone and Landman
Taylor Sheridan’s blatant advertising has turned annoying as we try to get through an episode of Landman. Whenever a brand label appears on the screen, the scene feels more like commercials than integral plot points. Sheridan should understand that such excessive use of product placements is meant for other mediums.
It is definitely not meant for a big-budget TV show on a platform where viewers pay exclusively for the immersive storytelling experience. It also runs the age-old danger of commercialization of art, which already happens largely around us. So keeping the advertising out of the TV shows will be a huge favor for the viewers.
Even if it’s a mandate that Sheridan has to follow to keep the series alive, the creator should learn to balance between narrative integrity and commercial interests.
Yellowstone is now available for streaming on Peacock, while Landman is now available for streaming on Paramount+.