From ‘Yellowstone’ to ‘Lioness,’ Taylor Sheridan built Paramount’s biggest TV empire — so why didn’t the studio fight to keep him?
Taylor Sheridan, the creative mastermind behind Yellowstone and its spinoffs, is moving on from Paramount — and it’s leaving Hollywood buzzing.
The hit writer-director has signed a massive deal with NBCUniversal reportedly worth up to $1 billion over five years, starting in 2029. But what’s even more shocking? Paramount, his longtime home, never made an offer to keep him.
The fallout comes just months after Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global, led by CEO David Ellison, who had hoped to reassure Sheridan that the new leadership valued his work.
Paramount’s top brass — including Ellison, Jeff Shell, and Dana Goldberg — even flew to Sheridan’s Texas ranch in August to smooth things over. The meeting seemed friendly enough, but behind the scenes, cracks were already forming.
Sources say Sheridan had grown frustrated with Paramount well before the merger. The studio reportedly rejected his movie script, “Capture the Flag,” and caused headaches when it initially blocked Warner Bros. from making another Sheridan script, F.A.S.T.
Things worsened when Paramount cast Nicole Kidman in a new project without telling Sheridan — even though her schedule could clash with his series Lioness.
Tensions only deepened as Paramount executives criticized Sheridan’s big spending on shows like Lioness, which recently received a third-season renewal seen as a last-ditch attempt to save their partnership.
When Ellison’s team finally met with Sheridan, they brought an entire crew of executives — a move one insider said made the meeting feel “cumbersome” instead of personal.
Meanwhile, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley was quietly winning Sheridan over with a more low-key, creative approach. What began as talks about a movie deal soon expanded to include TV and streaming, culminating in the historic billion-dollar offer.
Insiders believe Sheridan’s decision wasn’t just about money — it was about creative freedom. Known for fiercely guarding his independence, Sheridan reportedly chafed under Paramount’s new leadership, while Ellison wanted more control. In the end, both sides walked away without a fight — and Paramount never even put an offer on the table.
NBCUniversal, on the other hand, saw Sheridan as the crown jewel of modern television — and moved fast to claim him.
As Yellowstone’s John Dutton once said: “You build something worth having, someone’s gonna try to take it.”
