Taylor Sheridan wanted more creative freedom at this stage of his career, so he went to an entertainment home that could provide that to him.
The Yellowstone creator is set to leave Paramount for a massive 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.
He’s actually already started making movies for NBCUniversal after his film contract with Paramount expired earlier this year, 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.
One might assume that the money offered up by NBCUniversal to lure Sheridan away from Paramount played a large role in his decision to leave his former (and still kind of current) employer. In a conversation with Yahoo Finance, Sheridan actually revealed that it was his motivation to work with the team over at NBCUniversal – specifically the chairwoman of Universal Pictures and Chief Content Officer, Donna Langley:
“The new deal for me, and the beauty of it is, the team over there is (great). To get an opportunity to work with Donna Langley, whose taste is impeccable, and her understanding of the industry and our business is unrivaled.”
Sheridan used the example of how Langley put a lot of faith in The Odyssey this past summer. The Christopher Nolan-directed film, starring Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway among other stars, got a lot of people in the industry talking, and gossiping that it was going to cost too much to make and wouldn’t make a profit.
The doubters were wrong about that (it has brought in $1.6 billion worldwide against a $250-350 budget), and Sheridan says its an example of NBCUniversal knowing who to bet on, and who to give a long leash:
“Look who she bet on. Christopher Nolan is one of the best filmmakers alive. And it worked. It worked extremely well. It checked the creative boxes, and then it checked the financial boxes.
Was it a huge hurdle? Yes, and he sailed over it. So she bets on you. She bets on winners.”
And when you look at Taylor Sheridan’s entertainment resume, he’s an undoubtable winner.
He’s excited to have Donna Langley and NBCUniversal put their full faith behind him. More importantly, he’s looking forward to the creative freedom they are extending to him. Unlike his deal at Paramount, he won’t have an output minimum when he officially makes the move over to NBCUniversal:
“I’ve never had a show canceled. I’ve never had a show that wasn’t produced. Every show I’ve ever made was a hit. So I’ve earned the right to go somewhere that trusts me to do the same thing for them.
Different than where I am now, I have no output minimums. How much do I want to make? How many shows do I want to make? Do I want to make a movie now, then do a show? I have the freedom creatively. I don’t have to do so many shows.”
So fans of Taylor Sheridan could very likely see him operating in a “quality over quantity” environment. Considering he’s handled the “quality while quantity is also great” pace quite while with his plethora of TV series over the past decade or so (Yellowstone, The Madison, Landman, etc.), it’ll be exciting to see what Sheridan puts forth when he’s officially and solely working for NBC Universal.
