Taylor Sheridan Doesn’t Need Yellowstone — or Paramount — Anymore

The earth is moving under Taylor Sheridan’s feet.

When Puck reports something, it’s basically gospel — and this weekend’s bombshell that Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal sent shockwaves through Hollywood’s creative circles. 

But before you start mourning the Duttons or canceling your Lioness watch list, take a breath. Sheridan isn’t packing his saddlebag just yet.

According to multiple reports, Sheridan will continue developing his current shows for Paramount+ — including Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness, and Landman — along with maintaining his past titles like Lawmen: Bass Reeves and 1923 for the duration of their runs. 

In other words, the worlds he’s already built will stay where they are, living on the streaming service that turned his name into a brand. 

The new NBCUniversal deal kicks in at the end of 2028, when he’s free to start creating fresh TV and film projects for Peacock and Universal Pictures.

If that sounds confusing, you’re not alone. It’s the same kind of corporate tangle we saw with Ryan Murphy, who jumped to Netflix while American Horror Story and Feud kept running on FX and Hulu. 

These contracts are built to protect existing properties while freeing up creators to chart their next frontier. 

So, yes — Sheridan will still have a hand in the shows you’re already watching, but any new stories he dreams up after 2028 will belong to NBCU.

What’s wild is how long this has been brewing. Paramount owes much of its prestige to Sheridan — Yellowstone didn’t just put the network on the map; it gave Paramount+ an identity. 

But even that flagship series, ironically, has always streamed on Peacock thanks to a licensing deal signed before Paramount+ existed. Sheridan built the house, yet the crown jewel was sitting in someone else’s yard.

And let’s be honest — Yellowstone’s glory days are behind it.

Kevin Costner’s messy exit, the endless wait for the final episodes, and the mystery of the rumored Dutton Ranch continuation have all drained the show’s momentum. 

The Beth-and-Rip diehards are still out there, sure, but the cultural fire has cooled. 

Sheridan’s energy clearly shifted years ago toward expanding his universe beyond the ranch — from the gritty history of 1883 and 1923 to the moral murkiness of Lioness, the industrial weight of Landman, and the mafioso swagger of Tulsa King.

That evolution is the story. 

Sheridan has outgrown the narrow confines of the Yellowstone brand and maybe even Paramount itself. 

His work has always been about men and women navigating power, loyalty, and loss — stories that don’t need a branded streamer to thrive. 

If anything, moving to NBCUniversal gives him a broader canvas. You can almost picture it: another sprawling Western, a political thriller, or some completely unexpected frontier he hasn’t conquered yet.

So no, this isn’t the end of an era. 

It’s more like a changing of hands — the rare Hollywood deal where everyone gets to keep something. 

Paramount retains its stable of Sheridan shows for as long as they last, and Sheridan gets to move into a new creative sandbox without burning down the old one. 

By the time the clock runs out on his Paramount deal in 2028, audiences probably won’t even notice the shift. 

His fingerprints will still be all over television, whether the logo in the corner says Paramount+ or Peacock.

Because if there’s one thing Taylor Sheridan has proved, it’s that no one owns his universe but him.

Did the news of Sheridan’s new horizons shock you, or doesn’t it matter? 

Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below.