In a seismic move that will have significant ramifications for the creative output of Paramount TV, Taylor Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal. The prolific “Yellowstone” creator and writer/director behind copious streaming hits for Paramount+ will exit the studio once his current contract is up for a major deal at NBCUniversal, where he’ll make both film and TV.
Sheridan’s film deal with Paramount ends in March, at which point he’ll start making movies for Universal. His deal with Paramount Television runs through 2028, so he won’t be abandoning his ongoing Paramount+ shows just yet.
Puck first reported the news of Sheridan’s move. Paramount and NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Sheridan had been close with Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy, who exited the company when Ellison’s Skydance took over.
The shift is a significant loss for Paramount a time when the studio, under David Ellison’s new ownership, has been moving to add to its creative roster with the likes of Will Smith, James Mangold and “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer coming aboard in recent weeks.
That said, newly installed streaming chief Cindy Holland has been making moves to transform Paramount+ in the wake of the Skydance acquisition, so perhaps the content makeup going forward will be less Sheridan-dependent by design.
Sheridan has been a wildly prolific hit-maker for streaming service Paramount+ through “Yellowstone” spinoffs “1883” and “1923,” the Jeremy Renner-fronted “Mayor of Kingstown,” the Sylvester Stallone series “Tulsa King” and the recently launched Nicole Kidman/Zoe Saldaña thriller show “Lioness” and Billy Bob Thornton series “Landman,” all of which were ratings hits for the streamer.
There’s even more on the horizon before Sheridan moves to NBCUniversal: Two additional “Yellowstone” spinoffs in the Luke Grimes-fronted “Y: Marshals” and Michelle Pfeiffer series “The Madison.”
But Sheridan first came to prominence as a rising star screenwriter, earning an Oscar nomination for 2016’s “Hell or High Water” and penning Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario.” He directed 2017’s “Wind River” and 2021’s “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” and with a new film pact starting early next year at Universal, he may get back in the saddle on features before long — an unproduced screenplay of his, “F.A.S.T.,” is moving forward at Warner Bros.
But of course it was “Yellowstone” that made Sheridan’s mark at Paramount, where the Paramount Network series became a smash hit before ending after five seasons. Ironically, Peacock is the streaming home of “Yellowstone” thanks to a deal Paramount made before Paramount+ existed. That streaming deal is understood to conclude only after a significant period of time has passed since the last episode of “Yellowstone” airs, so it’s possible Sheridan’s move to NBCUniversal will coincide with “Yellowstone” finally streaming on Paramount+.
