Taylor Sheridan Exits Paramount: Yellowstone’s Future Just Got Complicated

Taylor Sheridan is making a big studio hop. The 55-year-old writer-director behind Yellowstone, Tulsa King, and the Sicario movies is setting up shop at NBCUniversal after years of being a cornerstone for Paramount. Yes, that is exactly as seismic as it sounds, and it comes with a few caveats that matter if you care about where your favorite shows live and what he can make next.

The move, the timeline, and who broke it

Puck News got it first, and The Hollywood Reporter backed it up: Sheridan has signed a new mega-deal with Universal to create movies and TV for NBCUniversal. The Universal arrangement kicks off with a film deal that starts next year. His television pact with Paramount, however, runs through the end of 2028. Translation: his TV shows stay put for a while, then he is expected to shift that side of his work to NBCU when the clock runs out.

So... what happens to Yellowstone?

Short version: Yellowstone is not leaving Paramount. As is standard with these deals, Paramount owns Yellowstone and the other franchises Sheridan built there over the past decade, per THR. When Sheridan eventually starts making TV for NBCUniversal, he will be building brand-new IP. Meanwhile, his existing Paramount+ ecosystem keeps rolling. If you were worried about an immediate, messy custody battle over Dutton Ranch, that is not the situation.

What he is making right now

The next Sheridan film out of the gate is F.A.S.T., an action-thriller set up at Warner Bros. Separate from that, his Universal deal begins with a film component next year. On TV, he keeps delivering for Paramount+ until 2028, with ongoing series like Special Ops: Lioness and Mayor of Kingstown still in motion.

Why both studios want him

Industry context worth knowing: Paramount, now under CEO David Ellison, has been aggressively courting top talent. NBCUniversal, guided creatively by Donna Langley, has a reputation for being very talent-friendly. Sheridan switching future allegiance is a trophy win for NBCU, but Paramount still benefits for years because it holds his current franchises and has a pipeline full of his shows.

Receipts: the Sheridan x Paramount slate

• Yellowstone (2018): RT Tomatometer 83%, RT Audience 76%, IMDb 8.6/10; streams via Paramount Network / Peacock
• 1883 (2021): RT Tomatometer 89%, RT Audience 78%, IMDb 8.7/10; streams on Paramount+
• Mayor of Kingstown (2021): RT Tomatometer 53%, RT Audience 81%, IMDb 8.1/10; streams on Paramount+
• 1923 (2022): RT Tomatometer 94%, RT Audience 53%, IMDb 8.3/10; streams on Paramount+
• Tulsa King (2022): RT Tomatometer 88%, RT Audience 76%, IMDb 7.9/10; streams on Paramount+
• Special Ops: Lioness (2023): RT Tomatometer 73%, RT Audience 74%, IMDb 7.8/10; streams on Paramount+
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023): RT Tomatometer 79%, RT Audience 93%, IMDb 7.3/10; streams on Paramount+
• Landman (2024): RT Tomatometer 78%, RT Audience 64%, IMDb 8.2/10; streams on Paramount+
• Without Remorse (2021): RT Tomatometer 45%, RT Audience 42%, IMDb 5.8/10; streams on Amazon Prime Video
• Finestkind (2023): RT Tomatometer 28%, RT Audience 59%, IMDb 6.1/10; streams on Amazon Prime Video / Paramount+

The creative non-negotiable

Sheridan has been very public about how he works: he does not bend once he commits to a story. That posture is a big part of why studios want him and also why his stuff feels of a piece no matter the logo at the end of the credits.

"I spent the first 37 years of my life compromising. When I quit acting, I decided that I am going to tell my stories my way, period. If you don’t want me to tell them, fine. Give them back and I’ll find someone who does — or I won’t, and then I’ll read them in some freaking dinner theater. But I won’t compromise. There is no compromising."

The bottom line

This is a big swing for NBCUniversal, but nothing at Paramount vanishes overnight. Yellowstone and the rest of the Sheridan-verse built at Paramount stay there, and his shows will keep feeding Paramount+ for years. Starting next year, he begins a film run with Universal, and once 2028 hits, expect him to start planting new TV worlds under the NBCU banner. Different studio, same Sheridan no-compromise energy.