Copyright Deadline
Paramount has laid out plans to significantly expand its television studios’ output after its acquisition by David Ellison’s Skydance. The company operates two major television studios – CBS Studios and Paramount TV Studios. After its first financial results since the deal closed, the company said that plans to grow this greatly as well as continuing to sell and produce TV titles for linear and streaming rivals. “We anticipate a significant expansion of our total television studio output over the coming years, encompassing titles to be distributed both on our own platforms and licensed to third-parties,” David Ellison, Chairman & CEO of Skydance-owned Paramount wrote in a letter to shareholders after the results. This comes after it recently struck a five-year deal with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker and a four-deal with Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers as well as a first-look TV deal with Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple’s Iron Ocean Productions. There was little mention of Taylor Sheridan on the investor call but Ellison noted in his letter that the Yellowstone co-creator was writing its Call of Duty movie. “While our contract with Sheridan will conclude at the end of 2028, we look forward to continuing our strong partnership over the next several years,” he added. CBS Studios is behind CBS series including NCIS, FBI, Fire Country and Matlock as well as Netflix’s upcoming remake of Little House On the Prairie and Apple’s Murderbot and is involved in the Star Trek franchise series. Recently restructured Paramount TV Studios is now the streaming focused division of the studio, led by Matt Thunell. It will include series that came from Skydance Television and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Nickelodeon live-action and Awesomeness. Shows include Paramount+’s Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King and Dexter: Resurrection as well as series for other networks including Amazon’s Reacher and Cross and Netflix’s Emily in Paris. The company also noted that it expects to make “incremental programming investments” in 2026 in excess of $1.5B, which includes its investment in the UFC, Paramount+ Originals, third-party catalog licensing and an increase in film slate. Ellison called CBS the “flagship asset” for Paramount and said that streaming is its “top priority” with plans for an increase in spending for Paramount+. He also gave a shout out to the fourth season of Mayor of Kingstown, upcoming season of Landman and final seasons of Yellowjackets and The Chi.
