So, I did a post on how SUCCESSION and IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA is the same show (SUCCESSION Is Expensive Lipstick On The Same Pig As IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA). I take that back. I think I have a better comparison. This post has a few *SPOILERS* for YELLOWSTONE, so beware…

Let’s start with the bad-

This Season of YELLOWSTONE took a turn I’d like to call “base baiting” and I hated it. I LOVE this show, but this Season felt like someone behind a desk decided to greenlight 1883, interject segments from 1883 as flashbacks for the Dutton family, and therefore needed to ‘signal’ to their mid-America ‘base’ the kind of show it was going to be. There were suddenly these huge sweeping country-lifestyle-porn segments that showcased Texas in the light that a truck commercial would – modern COUNTRY-COUNTRY music (not that gorgeous haunting folksy country that usually pops up on the show), long talks about how the West was won, long drawn out segments about how cowboys are the true heart of what makes this country great, and how cowboy-love involves a certain type of forward sexual roughness. It was gross. Especially when it was partnered with a striking pull-back on the Native-American storylines and then a quick interjection of magic spirit-animal time.

One more bad thing – the pilot for 1883 definitely signaled that any Native American characters were not going to be portrayed in a way that is sensitive to indigenous cultural values or beautifully complicated character portrayals. It was disgraceful. I pray they prove me wrong in time, but so far, it is the opposite of what I enjoy about YELLOWSTONE.

The good-

SUCCESSION and YELLOWSTONE are beautifully written, powerful, and engaging stories. This is top-notch TV. I get lost in the cinematic beauty, award-winning performances, and dangerous twists that give me joy at the end of a long day of parenting. I love these shows.

Now, SUCCESSION and YELLOWSTONE share a similar theme of siblings fighting for succession of an empire or great timeless behemoth like Yellowstone, ya see what I did there? But it is almost funny to set them side by side and see how closely they relate: Our patriarch has a will-they/won’t-they relationship with retirement, the kids are pretty awful people all around, there are uncle/advisors who take the kids under their wing, there is an adoptive cousin-like character who plays a large role because they are considered family, there is danger and abusive behaviors coupled with loving Fatherly moments that ALMOST stack up to the hero he is claimed to be, there is one penny red-head in a sea of brunettes, it is very very very white, and the daughter is the best choice to lead the company, one son has political aspirations, while the ‘main character’ son has the heart of their Father.

Everyone has Daddy issues and that’s ok. But both shows paint themselves as VERY American (incredibly conservative patriarchal structures) and yet these shows seem to have different audience appeal because of the backdrop of city or wilderness.

Not just the city v. wilderness life, there is one more difference in overall theme: to save the family business, SUCCESSION leads the audience into believing that their company structure will become extinct if they do not restructure for modern needs/market while YELLOWSTONE claims that a corporate-political-community balance is needed to stop progress and focus on preservation… hopefully in relationship with their neighboring tribe (but that remains to be seen if the writers will stop “base-baiting” and come back to the story they started which heavily included life on the reservation).

If you watch one show, you would LOVE the other show. If you watch both, you may have Daddy-issues.

SUCCESSION

The Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company. More on IMDb

Click To Watch Succession HERE

YELLOWSTONE

John Dutton and his family work to protect their vast ranch — the largest in the country — from real estate developers, an Indian reservation, and a nearby popular National Park.. More on IMDb.

Click To Watch Yellowstone HERE