Taylor Sheridan Admits He Rage-Baits His Critics on Purpose: “F*** ’em, Honestly”

Taylor Sheridan told Bill Simmons he plants moments in his shows just to wind up the critics who pick them apart.

The quote came on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where Sheridan copped to building “rage-bait” into “Landman” season 2. He said, “The critics and me — I don’t care what they think, and it annoys the s*** out of them that I don’t care. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage-bait them a bit, and this is one of them. F*** ’em, honestly.”

Sheridan gave the example of casting Demi Moore as basically an extra in season 1 of Landman. Critics hated it and said he couldn’t write compelling roles for women. They didn’t know he planned to kill off her character’s husband and make her a bigger player in season 2.

Another example from Landman comes from the character of Paigyn Meester, a nonbinary, vegan, sports-medicine student who is Ainsley’s roommate at college. The two students are set up as opposites who clash over their lack of shared interests and values. The ragebait part comes from the season 2 finale. Paigyn and Ainsley begin to get along: Paigyn uses their sports-medicine knowledge to care for Ainsley at cheer practice, and Ainsley stands up for Paigyn when other students mock them.

Critics may have expected Paigyn’s character to be a joke for the show’s conservative audience, but Sheridan defied expectations by finding common ground for the two characters to become friends. That’s one way to get people talking about your show and Sheridan already told everyone he does this on purpose.

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