Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who has become a franchise figure thanks to the success of his neo-Western series as well as a slew of crime and action thriller shows, is making a big change. And it’s a change that could seriously concern and disappoint fans.
Sheridan has carved out his career over the last few years on Paramount, with the likes of Yellowstone, Tulsa King, Lioness, Landman, and Mayor of Kingstown all debuting exclusively on the network and its streaming platform, Paramount+. Now, Sheridan is riding off into the sunset and onto pastures new after signing a new long-term deal with NBCUniversal that will see the writer, director, and producer leave Paramount behind.
What this means for the whole host of Sheridan-created and led shows on Paramount remains to be seen, but there is still time, as this new NBCUniversal deal, with regard to the small screen, at least, doesn’t kick in for three years. The report, which comes courtesy of Puck, does state that Sheridan will start making movies under the NBCUniversal umbrella as soon as next year.
Why Is Taylor Sheridan Leaving Paramount Behind?
Taylor Sheridan is under contract with Paramount Television until 2028, with the Yellowstone creator expected to play a part in the various upcoming spin-offs, as well as future seasons and spin-offs for the likes of Lioness and Tulsa King.
But why has Sheridan decided to pack up and leave Paramount behind? According to the report, Sheridan “wasn’t happy with the new Paramount regime,” and was left feeling “disappointed when most of the executives he worked with were either fired or marginalized after David Ellison bought the company in August.” Prior reports that budgets for Sheridan’s shows were being questioned and possibly slashed by Cindy Holland, who left Netflix earlier this year now overlooks the streaming platform Paramount+, may well have been true, ultimately leaving Sheridan to look elsewhere to continue his franchise-building success.
The report describes the new deal between Sheridan and NBCUniversal as “lucrative, unique, and potentially game-changing in the streaming business,” with “Glasser’s 101 Studios, the production studio for Sheridan’s full slate of shows,” also now set to “move over to Universal.”
While the description may initially come across as hyperbolic, it very much isn’t, with Sheridan having proven himself over and again to be one of the most adept at crafting neo-Western, crime, and action thriller shows. All of which go on to find an audience, achieve solid reviews, and pick up numerous awards. It’s quite the win for NBCUniversal, and a huge loss for Paramount, who will no doubt struggle to find a replacement when Sheridan walks away in 2028.
This new deal comes following recent reports that Sheridan is also looking to transform Texas into the next Hollywood. The writer and producer, who is also currently working on the action thriller movie F.A.S.T., has now built SGS Studios in Alliance, Texas. Spanning 450,000-square-feet, the lot is the largest studio space in the state and will reclaim “the independence and grit that built this industry in the first place. Texas offers something rare: the space to dream big, the freedom to build fast, and a community that still believes storytelling matters,” according to a statement made by Sheridan.