Paramount could soon find themselves in conflict with their star hitmaker Taylor Sheridan over moves to reduce streaming budgets, according to a new report. After making a transition into screenwriting with Denis Villeneuve’s crime-thriller Sicario, Sheridan created the neo-Western drama Yellowstone for Paramount, beginning a fruitful working relationship with the company and becoming their principal hitmaker. Sheridan created seven TV shows between 2018 and 2024, with the eighth (and most recent) Landman, debuting in November 2024, and his works are among the most successful on Paramount+.

Per Puck, Paramount’s new owner, David Ellison, and incoming head of streaming Cindy Holland, are looking to reduce the production budget of Paramount+ shows, while also exploring a new licensing arrangement with an outside streamer to maximize the shows’ value. The plan will decrease the budgets, with Holland reportedly targeting around $9 million per episode, while Sheridan shows typically fall between $12-16 million.

This report comes as the April 7 closing of the merger deal between Skydance Media and Paramount Global approaches, and Puck claims Sheridan isn’t pleased with Paramount’s efforts to leverage his shows’ success to account for weaknesses elsewhere. While there’s no claim of current animosity or an inability to work through these issues when the sale goes through, the report does note that Sheridan’s deal is up for renegotiation in 2027.

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While Paramount’s desire to reduce costs does make sense, especially as they cannot match the spending power and success of rivals like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, but it has created a less-than-ideal situation. There is no question that Sheridan is the jewel in Paramount’s crown, and has been for several years, and shows like Tulsa King, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, Yellowstone, 1883, Lioness, and Landman are still hugely successful across the Paramount+ streaming platform. As such, Paramount will benefit from Sheridan continuing to work with them and making sure he is happy with the process.

The need to cut production costs could be definitive here, especially with Paramount’s new boss, but the feeling will be that Sheridan is an asset they can ill-afford to lose.

However, on the flip side, it is true that Sheridan’s shows, due to their epic nature, impressive visuals, and star power can prove to be expensive projects, and the need to reduce costs means either the show’s budgets will have to be reduced, or they will need to be scrapped. With plans to reduce the budget of Paramount shows to $9 million per episode, this may prompt Sheridan not to renew his deal, and perhaps look to move to a rival unless he feels he can work within a reduced budget, or he can negotiate a higher budget for certain shows.

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Sheridan’s value to Paramount was evident in the past year, with several of his dramas generating headline-grabbing success for the Paramount+ platform. According to some end-of-year data by Luminate, which tracks streaming performance, Landman came third in the list of Top 10 Originals. The oil drama, featuring the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Jon Hamm, generated almost 10 billion minutes viewed. Tulsa King, led by Sylvester Stallone, took the fifth spot with 8.47 billion minutes.

It could be the case that, because of his proven track record as a hitmaker, Sheridan will have more allowances to make the kind of show he wants to make.

The Top 10 list is varied, featuring both reality and scripted breakouts, but it does not paint a full picture of Sheridan’s success. His dramas, whether Lioness or Lawmen, are among the most-watched shows on Paramount+. The Yellowstone prequel 1923, currently airing season 2, is among the most-frequently discussed series on television as it barrels toward an eventful finale. Yellowstone, in general, is a franchise that did the most to establish Sheridan as a powerhouse creator, and it may be the clearest sign of his influence.

A collage of Taylor Sheridan as Travis Wheatley and the Yellowstone cowboys
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There are several spinoffs of Yellowstone currently in the works. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will reprise their roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler. There’s also The Madison, which is connected to Yellowstone and is headlined by the likes of Michelle Pfeffier. It was likewise recently confirmed that Luke Grimes would be back as Kayce Dutton for a CBS series, a move that underlines that executives are attuned to the reliability of the Yellowstone brand and hope to leverage it to bolster a traditional broadcast network like CBS.

Whether that awareness plays in Sheridan’s favor in the long run depends on what Paramount’s new leadership prioritizes. It could be the case that, because of his proven track record as a hitmaker, Sheridan will have more allowances to make the kind of show he wants to make and assemble the kind of A-list cast that he’s known for. It might also be that the general sense of trepidation and spending aversion that has pervaded some corners of Hollywood won’t spare even a megaproducer.

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Sylvester Stallone in bed as Dwight in Tulsa King season 2Image via Paramount+
The need to cut production costs could be definitive here, especially with Paramount’s new boss, but the feeling will be that Sheridan is an asset they can ill-afford to lose. This is even more pertinent if they continue to explore licensing agreements with outside streamers, as they will need to offer a quality product, and Sheridan is currently providing this. With a couple of years to run until his deal expires, and Landman season 2 renewed, there is time for Paramount to lock Sheridan into a new future deal, but it’s likely that frank conversations will need to be had.