Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has truly found his dream life. As a writer, showrunner, and rancher, all he desires is to spend his days riding horses and shooting television series right in his own backyard.
Indeed, Sheridan not only films on one of the world’s largest ranches but also owns one. The 1883 showrunner acquired the renowned Four Sixes Ranch last year, an ideal situation as he gears up for an additional Yellowstone spinoff. Only this time, he can start production right on his own ranch.
Taylor Sheridan buys one of the biggest ranches in the world
Sheridan has dreamed about owning his own ranch for a long time. When the Four Sixes Ranch went on the market in late 2022, the Yellowstone creator couldn’t resist the opportunity.
According to Fort Worth Report, Sheridan organized a group of investors to purchase the famous ranch, which was listed for over $300 million. The West Texas ranch was developed way back in 1870 and features 266,255 acres, making it one of the largest ranches in the world.
Once part of Burk Burnett’s vast properties, the 6666 Ranch (also known as Four Sixes) was later owned by his great-granddaughter, Anne Burnett Marion. Unfortunately, Anne Marion’s life came to an end at 81 on February 11, 2020. Her will instructed that all her ranching businesses were to be sold upon her passing.
Luckily for Sheridan, purchasing the ranch has been a dream come true, both for his professional and personal lives.
‘Yellowstone’ creator can’t get enough of life on the ranch
If it were up to him, Sheridan would split his days between filming television series and riding horses. And he’s not about to let anyone stop him.
In an interview with FWTX, the Yellowstone creator opened up about his life on the ranch and revealed that there is nothing he’d rather do than be on a horse in the great outdoors steering cattle. He also admitted that buying the Four Sixes Ranch was a huge responsibility that takes very seriously.
“I would pinch myself if I wasn’t keenly aware of the tremendous amount of responsibility that I just took on. It’s 150 years of legacy building at Four Sixes,” he shared.
When it comes to filming shows like Yellowstone, Sheridan revealed that the success of the franchise has allowed him to tell real ranch stories without turning them into an urban cowboy story. That mindset led him to think about the Four Sixes Ranch and other potential Yellowstone spinoffs.
Of course, owning the iconic ranch means that Sheridan doesn’t have to travel far for filming, something he readily took advantage of during the production of 1883.
Taylor Sheridan filmed some of ‘1883’ on his own ranch
The success of Yellowstone has allowed Sheridan to pursue a variety of different spin-offs and prequels to add to the director’s already packed schedule. This includes the highly successful 1883 prequel, which starred Isabel May as Elsa Dutton.
After filming for the first season of 1883 wrapped up in 2022, May opened up about the production process. As previously reported by Showbiz Cheat Sheet, the actor revealed that a good deal of the series was actually filmed in Sheridan’s backyard.
“He was in constant communication. We were shooting at his house — not inside of his house, obviously — but in his backyard. He owns all of the land that we were shooting on in Texas, and then we moved to Montana and all around,” she revealed.
In addition to Yellowstone and 1883, Sheridan is busy working on a few new spinoffs, including The Bass Reeves Story, 1923, 1944, and 6666. The last of which has not been confirmed by Paramount but is reportedly in development. Given how Sheridan owns one of the biggest ranches in the world, there’s no doubt he’ll continue to film many of these projects in his own backyard.
