What does Taylor Sheridan’s move from Paramount+ to NBCUniversal mean for Landman? Well, some of the stars of the show just might know.
It was late in October when Deadline broke the news that Taylor Sheridan would be leaving his entertainment home of Paramount for a deal with NBCUniversal. The creator, writer and director is expected to finish out his TV contract with Paramount (through the end of 2028) and then take his talents to NBC at the beginning of 2029.
Sources are saying that he’ll actually start making movies for NBC Universal at the beginning of 2027, and that the movie side of the deal will run for eight years.
On the other hand, the overall deal that Sheridan has struck up with NBCUniversal to make TV shows will start on January 1, 2029, and will reportedly stretch five years… paying Taylor Sheridan somewhere around $1 billion to make 20-plus shows. That might seem like a lot of money for one man, but that one man’s Yellowstone brand is easily valued at over $3 billion.
Guess we should start calling him the “Billion Dollar Man of TV,” eh?
All of those things considered though, and specifically honing in on the part where Sheridan will finish out his contract with Paramount through 2028, it does beg the question: what happens to all the hit shows of his that are currently streaming on Paramount+? And set to air on other Paramount-owned networks like CBS?
Programs like Special Ops: Lioness, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and the mega-hit Landman all currently find a home on Paramount+ as Paramount+ Originals. And unlike Yellowstone spinoffs 1883 and 1923, they are still ongoing as we speak. So does that mean that Sheridan will be wrapping all of those up prior to making his move at the beginning of 2029?
Landman star Billy Bob Thornton, who plays Tommy Norris in the series, was asked what he thinks will happen when Sheridan’s deal runs dry at Paramount. From what he can tell, Paramount shows will stay put (he doesn’t see a chance of them moving with the creator, director and writer), and Thornton told The Hollywood Reporter he’s not really sure what will happen in the next couple of years:
“I think the shows that are at Paramount, stay at Paramount, so I don’t think those are affected. His deal is for the future. And who knows what that holds. Taylor is a brilliant guy, and I’m sure wherever he goes, whatever he does is gonna be successful, at least I know it’ll be real.”
That “who knows what the future holds” is doing a lot of work there. Could that mean that Thornton doesn’t expect Landman to make it to 2029 anyways? Or could it be in reference to the weird amount of time it took for Landman to be renewed for a second season despite breaking streaming numbers for Paramount+? It sounds like he’s saying Landman will be done by the time Sheridan is on to his next venture with NBC. So at the current pace, at most we’re looking at what… 5 seasons in total? Which, despite what some fans might think, feels like a sweet spot for the show.
Landman newcomer Sam Elliott, who is joining the cast for Season 2 and will be playing Tommy Norris’ father, gave a similar answer to the one that Thornton provided. All Elliott knows is that the Paramount shows will be staying with Paramount, and that Taylor Sheridan will likely go on to create some new, unique stories for NBCUniversal:
“It’s not gonna impact the future of this series because everything that Taylor had at Paramount is gonna stay at Paramount. It’s not like he’s taking it there. The Universal thing, as I understand, it’s a whole new deal, so it’s just great for Taylor’s world. I think it’s fantastic.”
So there you have it. Not exactly the answer that Landman fans want to hear (they’d probably like to be told that Landman will run on forever), but it’s an answer nonetheless. The fact that no one seems to think that Paramount+ shows will be going anywhere could either mean that a new director and writer would take over when Sheridan leaves, or that Taylor Sheridan will wrap up all of the active stories he has before officially moving over to NBCUniversal.
I’m banking on the latter…
