Yahoo Movies Ben Affleck Is ‘Kind of Disturbed’ by How Much Jennifer Lopez Loves ‘Yellowstone’
Ben Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Lopez appears to be going strong — both onscreen and off. Less than a year after the reunited couple got married, Affleck signed on to produce “Unstoppable,” a new sports drama that’s set to star Lopez, through his Artists Equity production company. But while they might be in lockstep about their upcoming film project, that doesn’t mean they always agree on what to watch.
Appearing on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” to promote his upcoming film “Air,” Affleck joked that his wife’s TV preferences occasionally puzzle him. He explained that Lopez enjoys Taylor Sheridan’s Western soap opera “Yellowstone” — apparently much more than he does.
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“I’m kind of disturbed that my wife really likes ‘Yellowstone,'” Affleck said, before adding that Lopez was “really drawn to the romance between Cole Hauser and the woman who plays his wife.”
While Affleck said that Hauser is “excellent” in his role as Rip Wheeler on the show, his comments speak to the divide over how “Yellowstone” is viewed in different circles. The series has consistently dominated cable television ratings since it premiered in 2018 and spawned a slate of popular spin-offs that stream on Paramount+. The franchise is such a dependable ratings juggernaut that Paramount is essentially building its streaming strategy around producing as many projects from Sheridan as possible.
But inside Hollywood, the show isn’t nearly as well-liked. Critics have largely dismissed the series — though some of the prequels have fared better — and it doesn’t drive conversations in the way that buzzier prestige shows (with much smaller audiences) do.
Of course, Affleck has never minced words when it comes to sharing his distaste for entertainment properties he dislikes. He recently spoke about how the unpleasant experience of shooting Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” soured him on superhero movies.
“You want to go to work and find something interesting to hang onto, rather than just wearing a rubber suit,” he said. “And most of it you’re just standing against the computer screen going, ‘If this nuclear waste gets loose, we’ll…’ That’s fine. I don’t condescend to that or put it down, but I got to a point where I found it creatively not satisfying. Also just, you’re sweaty and exhausted. And I thought, ‘I don’t want to participate in this in any way. And I don’t want to squander any more of my life, of which I have a limited amount.’”
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