Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | News | July 1, 2026
Let’s get this out of the way: A lot of you are probably thinking, “Why is Taylor Sheridan talking so much lately? Did he release a new show that my dad will say is ‘just OK,’ but dutifully watches to chase that early Yellowstone high that will forever elude him?” Surprisingly, no! What Taylor Sheridan did release is a new book titled, How to Not Die in Prison. Is it a gritty pulp thriller that might actually be decent because we all forget my man wrote Hell or High Water? Sure isn’t.
From Simon & Schuster:
The debut book from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, creator of Landman and cocreator of Yellowstone — a no-bullsh*t, darkly funny survival guide to life inside a maximum-security prison, cowritten with prison-hardened ex-con Tom Nelson.
So, that’s happening and explains why Sheridan went from an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast to sitting down with Howard Stern where the writer/director opened up about why his experience on Sons of Anarchy made him quit acting. After Season 2, Sheridan asked for a small raise so he’d be paid the same as the other actors, with the obvious exception of Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, and Katey Sagal. FX did not like that.
Via The Wrap:
“They said, ‘We’ll give you $15,000 and we’ll guarantee you 10 episodes. That’s all you’re getting.’ I do the math on it and I said, ‘That’s not a raise. What is that?’” Sheridan remembered. “My attorney responded to this business affairs guy. He said, ‘Look, I’ve got kids on f**king cooking shows on YouTube that make more than that.’ And he goes, ‘Well, then the guy should go get a cooking show on YouTube. We just don’t have to pay him because there’s 50 of that dude. I can recast that guy tomorrow.’”
According to Sheridan, it was an eye-opening experience because he realized where he ranked as an actor: “imminently replaceable.” From then on, he wasn’t about to miss his kid’s soccer games for a profession that didn’t respect him and barely paid enough to live in LA.
“The people that have all the power are the people telling stories. So I’m going to tell my own stories,” Sheridan told Stern. “That’s when I decided that I was going to write. I quit.”
To Taylor Sheridan’s credit, he went from the forgettable sheriff’s deputy on Sons of Anarchy to the head of a TV empire. Did he grow a giant ego in the process? You bet, but it’s not like he’s writing checks that he can’t cash. I guarantee half of the people reading this have parents or relatives who devour his shows. Heck, I used to be into Yellowstone until the fourth season and never really went back. Turns out Kevin Costner wasn’t supposed to stick around past Season 3, and even Sheridan will admit the show was forced to tread water because Paramount got cold feet.
Anyway, you can watch him talk SOA below:
