Several months after exiting Paramount Global as co-CEO amid the Skydance merger, Chris McCarthy is gearing up for a new role at NBCUniversal focused on managing the company’s relationship with new recruit Taylor Sheridan, TheWrap has learned.
McCarthy, who worked closely with Sheridan as he built out his “Yellowstone” universe at Paramount, is in talks to sign a deal with NBCUniversal to produce shows and support the company’s new relationship with Sheridan, who will soon transition from Paramount to NBCUniversal.
The news, which was first reported by Bloomberg, comes less than four months after McCarthy exited Paramount in late July, following the completion of the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which crowned David Ellison as the new CEO. While McCarthy would’ve had the option to remain at Paramount if he was offered a different role, an insider told TheWrap at the time that he was not interested in remaining with the company.
McCarthy served as president and CEO for Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and stepped up as co-CEO alongside CBS CEO George Cheeks and president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Brian Robbins after Bob Bakish stepped down in April 2024.
During his time at Paramount, McCarthy notably vouched for “Yellowstone” when it was in danger of being canceled at Paramount Network, and the show ended up being the basis for a handful of successful spinoffs at Paramount, including “1883″ and “1923,” among others.
McCarthy’s move comes less than a month after Sheridan inked a new deal at NBCUniversal encompassing both film and TV. Sheridan will kick off his film partnership with NBCUniversal after his deal with Paramount is up in March, through he won’t be contributing on the TV side to NBCUniversal until after his deal with Paramount Television runs out in 2028.
