10+ Years Later, This Controversial Western Is One of Streaming’s Biggest Surprises

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that the Western genre has had such a massive resurgence. Many American viewers seem to be yearning for a bygone era, and shows like Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone deliver that nostalgia. Released in 2018, Yellowstone launched a new wave of interest in Westerns, led by its own spin-offs and a string of lavishly produced movies and shows from other studios. The decade leading up to Yellowstone‘s release was rather quiet on the Western front, although there were a handful of movies that managed to break through. They were invariably directed by the Coen Brothers or Quentin Tarantino. However, another critically acclaimed filmmaker was on the verge of making a Western before a decision she made fueled one of the biggest production controversies of the past couple of decades.