Published Sep 2, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT
Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.
Sign in to your Collider account
2026 has been a jam-packed year for Taylor Sheridan, which comes as no surprise to anyone following his relentless career. In an era where it can take writers years to pen a single season of television, Sheridan regularly writes four or five seasons a year while overseeing the production of several others. His current juggernaut sitting at the top of streaming charts is Lioness, the hit spy thriller starring Zoe Saldaña. Beyond holding the #1 spot on Paramount+, the first few episodes of Lioness are also streaming on Prime Video for viewers testing the waters. Sheridan has also expanded the Yellowstone universe this year with spin-offs like Marshals and Dutton Ranch, both of which have already been renewed for future seasons.
While Sheridan’s television empire at Paramount has garnered him massive attention in recent years, longtime followers will recall an earlier era when he was focused strictly on cinema. Before becoming television’s premier showrunner, he built his reputation as a master screenwriter of tense, grounded big-screen thrillers. Most fans point to** Denis Villeneuve**‘s Sicario as his breakthrough feature, closely followed by the critically acclaimed** Hell or High Water**. These early movie projects established his signature narrative style: gritty atmospheric tension, morally grey characters, and unforgiving American landscapes.
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
Despite those blockbuster hits, Wind River has a strong case for being the most underrated feature of his career. Starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, the film carries shades of Bosch and True Detective, centering on a wildlife officer haunted by tragedy who teams up with a rookie FBI agent to investigate a murder on a remote Wyoming reservation. Earning scores of 87% from critics and 90% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, it is a chilling, atmospheric hunt for a killer that explores grief and systemic violence. Wind River is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S., though subscribers should note that licensing restrictions render the film unavailable on Netflix’s ad-supported plan.
A sequel to the film has officially wrapped production in 2025, though neither Renner nor Olsen will be returning and an official release date remains unannounced. It is reportedly set to star Martin Sensmeier, Gil Birmingham, Jason Clarke, Scott Eastwood, Chaske Spencer, Alan Ruck, Kali Reis, and Tatanka Means. The sequel is directed by Kari Skogland, with a screenplay by Patrick Massett and John Zinman.
For those on an ad-free tier, check out Wind River on Netflix today, and stay tuned for more updates and coverage of Sheridan’s future projects.
](/tag/thriller/)