Taylor Sheridan is all the rage on TV nowadays. Not only is “Yellowstone” a massive success, but it appears his “Mayor of Kingstown” Paramount+ series is doing well and his first “Yellowstone” spinoff, “1883,” is also killing it. So much so, the man has a number of new TV series in the works. You’ll be surprised to know that Fox is working on a TV adaptation of “Hell or High Water,” but Sheridan, who wrote the original film, is actually not attached.
According to Variety, Fox is developing a new series based on the award-winning thriller, “Hell or High Water.” The new series follows the story of two brothers who aim to take back what is theirs by robbing banks in Texas, while on the run from a Texas Ranger. All of this is in response to a greedy oil tycoon out to ruin their community. A number of executive producers involved in the series worked on the original film, including director David Mackenzie. However, Sheridan’s name is nowhere to be found.
It’s unclear why Sheridan isn’t listed amongst the producers or why he’s not involved in the series in some capacity. Common sense would dictate that he’s probably just too damn busy with his “Yellowstone” cinematic universe with Paramount to work on this adaptation. That said, it could also be a case of Fox not wanting to involve Sheridan because he commands a huge price tag and could take over creative control. Whatever the case, “Hell or High Water” is coming without the creative input from the film’s screenwriter. Take that for what it’s worth.
The original film stars Ben Foster and Chris Pine as the two leads with Jeff Bridges as the Ranger hunting them down. It’ll be interesting to see how the series casts its leads, as these roles should be highly sought after. It’ll also be interesting to see if the series is going for the more serialized, prestige format or if “Hell or High Water” will turn into another network procedural where there’s a new bank robbery per episode? We’re still a long ways from finding out, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for news.