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The nine-figure deal is the second for the 'Yellowstone' creator with the media conglomerate and includes multiple other projects that are in the works for the media company.
Taylor Sheridan is doubling down on his relationship with ViacomCBS.
The Yellowstone creator has inked his second sprawling overall deal with the media titan in a pact that sources estimate is valued in the nine-figure range. The new agreement comes a year into Sheridan's current three-year pact and extends his deal for five additional years (through 2028). It also includes a series order for a Yellowstone prequel, titled Y: 1883, at Paramount+.
Sheridan's deal is also expected to cover a number of other projects in various stages of development. The pact includes five cycles per year of scripted and procedural series. The deal will see Sheridan supply content for MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios for platforms including but not limited to CBS, Paramount Network, Paramount+ and other ViacomCBS brands. He will also have the ability to sell to third-party buyers. Sheridan is also behind prison drama Mayor of Kingstown, which was picked up to series for Paramount Network in January 2020.
Yellowstone has been a monster hit for ViacomCBS-owned basic cabler Paramount Network and has already been renewed for a fourth season. The season three finale from last August notched a series high 5.16 million total viewers, capping a season that crowned the show as the most-watched cable entertainment program of 2020. The Kevin Costner-led series, co-created by Sheridan and John Linson, is currently streaming on NBCUniversal's Peacock as ViacomCBS looks to broaden the show's reach before likely bringing the library back to Paramount+.
Y: 1883 follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana. Sheridan exec produces alongside John Linson, Art Linson, David Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari. The first promo for the prequel will air Sunday during the Super Bowl. (Watch that, below.)
Paramount+ will officially launch in March when it is rebranded from CBS All Access. The platform is designed to be broadened out to include content from all of ViacomCBS' potfolio, including BET, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1, among others.
Yellowstone was the first drama picked up to series for Paramount Network after it was rebranded (from Spike TV) as a general entertainment destination by former Viacom exec Kevin Kay. (It was Kay who kicked off talks for an overall deal with Sheridan years ago.) Yellowstone has become a signature hit for Paramount and inspired Chris McCarthy, who oversees all of ViacomCBS' basic cable networks, to build around event-style originals with big characters at their center, be they scripted series or original movies.
"Taylor Sheridan is a visionary creative whose work has reinvented genres and amassed fan bases around the globe; we are thrilled he calls ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment his home,” said MTV Entertainment president McCarthy. “We couldn’t be more excited to build upon our partnership with him, expand the Yellowstone universe and showcase Taylor’s boundless talent across all of our brands and platforms."
Sheridan is repped by CAA, Elevate Entertainment and Meyer & Downs.
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