And that’s what makes Taylor Sheridan’s show so good.

Before Taylor Sheridan‘s epic drama Yellowstone hit the Paramount network, it was initially scripted as a movie and pitched as “The Godfather in Montana.” Sheridan was actually in talks with HBO to make Yellowstone into a series. When Sheridan realized the production team wasn’t supportive of a modern Western, saying it wasn’t trendy enough, the show was almost dead in the water. HBO typically retains the rights to all scripts it develops or rejects, but upon leaving HBO, then-programming president Michael Lombardo gave the script back to Sheridan.

Sheridan shopped the Yellowstone script around Hollywood, being rejected by everyone (sounds a bit like Mario Puzo‘s many rejections while trying to find a publisher for The Godfather) — that is, until Paramount Network finally saw the potential and agreed to produce the show. The Paramount Network was a rebranding of Spike TV and was largely unknown at the time, but within a couple of years, Yellowstone was one of the biggest shows on television. Hailed as a fresh take on the familiar Western, Yellowstone audiences couldn’t get enough of the cowboy drama. But this new take boasts a lot of intentional similarities to Puzo’s story, The Godfather, and that’s one of the reasons the series is such a gargantuan hit. Season 2, in particular, offers many Godfather-like moments in character development and plot.

‘Yellowstone’ Borrows Heavily from ‘The Godfather’s Main Characters

You don’t have to look far to see the similarities between Yellowstone and The Godfather. The Dutton and Corleone families have four children, three boys and one girl. The Corleone family is made up of Santino “Sonny” (James Caan), the oldest, Frederico, or “Fredo” (John Cazale), Michael (Al Pacino), and Constanzia, or “Connie” (Talia Shire). Sonny is a hothead, always quick to temper, and knows he will take over his father’s illegal empire. Elements of Sonny’s character are shared between the oldest Dutton, Lee (Dave Annable), and daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly). Lee Dutton and Sonny are both the oldest sons, being groomed to inherit their father’s legacies. Both have their lives cut short when they are brutally murdered. The more Sonny-like character in temperament is Beth Dutton. Beth’s fiery temper and loyalty to her father are strikingly similar to Sonny’s. Though, arguably, Beth is much better at using her wits than Sonny ever was, she embodies a certain ruthlessness that the other members of her family lack.

Beth also shares similarities with Connie Corleone, being the only daughter and a favorite of her father. Connie was the victim of domestic abuse early in her adulthood, the result of a violent husband, and her trauma left her struggling to find healthy personal relationships. Connie turned to alcohol and excessive living to distract from her real problems. Beth certainly shares some of these tendencies in dealing with her past traumas. Where these two characters really start to connect is in the similarities between Beth and the Connie we see in The Godfather Part III. Connie begins to play a role in the family business, orchestrating epic takedowns of enemies, even going against her brother Michael to do what she feels must be done. In Season 2, Beth sets up shop in Montana and starts helping her father navigate the treacherous waters of real estate and politics. She finds an appropriate candidate for the family to back as attorney general, buys up land around the family ranch, and puts the land in a conservation easement. All of this was to protect her father and, ultimately, the family legacy — a very Connie move indeed.

Fredo is most similar to Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), though what Jamie lacks in Fredo’s charisma, he makes up for in intelligence. Both characters are desperate for their father’s love and attention. Both possess an innate desire to please their father but little ability to do so. They lack confidence and are jealous of their siblings but hide it behind a facade. Their desperate desire to be loved makes them untrustworthy because they will do anything for approval. Jamie shows his disloyalty in Season 2 when he decides to pursue his run for attorney general despite his father changing his mind. He later returns to the family, realizing he can’t function without his father’s blessing, but he has destroyed any trust there. Both Fredo and Jamie are the family punching bags. They are always messing up and being reminded of their failings.

Tom Hagen’s (Robert Duvall) character shares similarities with Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and Jamie Dutton. Tom was Vito’s informally adopted son. He was living on the street after running away from an orphanage when he befriended Sonny. The Corleone family takes Tom in and raises him as one of their own. He later goes to law school and becomes the family lawyer and consigliere. Sound familiar? Tom has a backstory similar to Rip’s, being an orphan with a tragic past. He is a lawyer like Jamie and is employed by the family to fight legal battles against them. However, Tom’s role as consigliere makes him most like Rip. A consigliere is a trusted advisor and confidant of the boss. Rip is the person John trusts most, evident by the fact that Rip knows every dark deed John has committed, and his loyalty has never wavered.

‘Yellowstone’s Father-Son Similarities to ‘The Godfather’ Run Deep

The significant similarities to The Godfather are in the characters of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) with John Dutton III (Kevin Costner) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), not just in their father-son dynamic but also in the central conflict at the heart of their characters. Vito and John are the heads of the family. Both run a large empire and want nothing more than to protect their legacy for their children. It’s clear early on in Yellowstone that John never wanted Kayce to take over the ranch. Lee was always supposed to be that person and was groomed for it.

Similarly, Vito never wanted Michael to take over the family business. That was supposed to be Sonny’s job. Both fathers struggle with the loss of their heirs and the knowledge that they must ask something tremendous of their youngest sons. Both Vito and John share a deep love for their family and the empire they have built. They would do anything to keep their legacy intact and their family safe. Unfortunately, both struggle with how exactly to do that when facing foes around every corner and constantly have to choose between family and legacy. And that is what makes their similarities so striking. They want to preserve their legacy for their children, but their families are always in danger from those trying to take down their empire. There is no resolution; it is their eternal conflict.

Michael and Kayce are alike in many ways as well. Both are veterans, the youngest son in the family, and both struggle with the more shady aspects of the family business. Kayce had an estranged relationship with his father in Season 1. After his brother’s death, Kayce begins mending his relationship and helping with the family business. He is reluctant, much as Michael was initially, but ultimately, he can’t assuage his devotion to his father or the ranch. Michael, similarly, was not destined to take over his father’s business. But after his brother Sonny dies, he is the next logical choice. Though Fredo is older than Michael, much as Jamie is more senior than Kayce, it’s the youngest son who has the skills to take over the family business. Michael and Kayce share the same struggle. They want to do things right and protect their families, but choosing the family business means they will never have a regular life. The choice is simple: walk away knowing your family’s legacy is over and live the life you want, or stay and secure the family empire, knowing you’ll have to do bad things to keep what’s yours.

‘Yellowstone’s Season 2 Feud Ends in a ‘Godfather’-Style Showdown

One of the most striking similarities between Yellowstone and The Godfather is in the Season 2 feud between the Duttons and the Beck Brothers. The Becks, Malcolm (Neal McDonough), and Teal (Terry Serpico), are after the Yellowstone Ranch. They have plans to build a luxury resort, and the Duttons are in the way. After attempting to make deals with various other players like Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), they begin to lose their patience. They decide it’s time to take out their competition. So, they hire a hit on Jenkins and orchestrate the kidnapping of Kayce’s son Tate (Brecken Merrill). They also hire thugs to presumably kill Beth, who is rescued by Rip Wheeler not a moment too soon. If this whole thing doesn’t scream “going to the mattress,” not much else does.

Yellowstone‘s similarities to The Godfather are plentiful and intentional. Sheridan knew precisely what he was doing in creating characters, plots, and conflicts that mirrored those in The Godfather. For one thing, it’s familiar. While Yellowstone, at its heart, is about the degradation of the American West, the encroachment of civilization on pristine wilderness, and the loss of an old and honored way of life, that doesn’t resonate with most people. What does resonate with people is a familiar story about family dynamics, the struggle between right and wrong, and preserving family legacy at all costs. And no tale embodies that more than The Godfather. Not only that, but the characters in The Godfather represent all the different aspects of humanity.

Why reinvent the wheel when you know the formula for success? That isn’t to diminish anything Sheridan did in drawing inspiration from the beloved movie, because it is a stroke of genius even to contemplate such an idea. “The Godfather in Montana” concept is what makes Yellowstone the mega-hit that it is. It’s familiar, relatable, and thoroughly engaging.