What To Know
- Taylor Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal, but will continue working on Yellowstone and its spinoffs with Paramount through 2028 due to preexisting commitments.
- Three spinoffs — The Dutton Ranch, Y: Marshals, and The Madison — are actively in production, while other announced projects, such as 1944 and 6666, remain in development limbo with no recent updates.
- Sheridan’s new deal allows time to complete current Yellowstone projects.
Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone and its spinoffs, is leaving Paramount Network for NBCUniversal. This comes at a time when several previously announced Yellowstone spinoffs remain in limbo, while three others — The Dutton Ranch (working title for the Beth and Rip spinoff), Y: Marshals, and The Madison — are actively being made. What does this move mean for the franchise’s future?
Sheridan’s producing partner, David Glasser, and his 101 Studios have also signed a first-look film and TV deal with NBCUniversal. His TV-film deal begins in 2026, after he’s fulfilled his obligations with Paramount. Sheridan’s overall deal with NBCUniversal is a five-year contract, including film, TV, and streaming. It begins on January 1, 2029, after Sheridan’s Paramount overall deal (which goes through 2028) ends.
This is a good sign for the Yellowstone universe, since it means that there are three more years to produce any shows that are still in the pipeline (Sheridan also created Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and Lioness for Paramount). But this new deal doesn’t provide any updates on the previously announced Yellowstone spinoffs that have gone years without updates — the 1944 prequel seemingly connected to 1884 and 1923, and the 6666 spinoff about the Texan ranch that Jimmy (Jefferson White) moves to in Yellowstone.
Sheridan and Glasser are both executive producers on the Beth and Rip spinoff, The Dutton Ranch, and The Madison (premiere dates TBA), Y: Marshals (premiering in Spring 2026 on CBS, which is part of Paramount Global) through 101 Studios, so that’s part of their preexisting commitments with Paramount. The 6666 series was announced in 2021, and the 1944 series was announced in 2023. Outside of Yellowstone director Christina Voros telling TV Insider in December 2024 that Sheridan “has left some doors open” for those shows to proceed, there have been no updates on the development of these titles.
Voros said that working with Sheridan, who wrote all of the Yellowstone shows that have already aired, means knowing that there will be stretches of time without updates, and then Sheridan will reveal he’s ready with a new tale.
“I honestly don’t know how Taylor chooses to tell which stories he chooses to tell when,” Voros said of 6666 and 1944 when discussing Yellowstone‘s final season last year. “I think he has closed a lot of doors on Yellowstone this season. There are obviously characters that we will not see again because they have been dispatched. But I think he has left some doors open, and there’s some doors that I can’t tell if they’re locked or not yet. But we will know when we cross through them.”
The short of it is, Sheridan is still working with Paramount through 2028. His production company is still tied to all of the Yellowstone shows. Even though he’s not serving as showrunner on The Dutton Ranch, Y: Marshals, and The Madison like he did with the previous shows in the universe, he’s still working on them. With other people leading the charge on those three programs, Sheridan theoretically has more time to get to work on 1944 and 6666.
Having this NBCUniversal deal in place means that Sheridan could spend the next few years building a team to take over the creative direction of the Yellowstone universe over at Paramount, one that can carry on the mantle of his successful franchise.
Y: Marshals, Series Premiere, Spring 2026, CBS