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If you had a man capable of reliably producing the most popular shows on TV as part of your company, you'd probably do everything you could to keep him. Unfortunately, Paramount let "Yellowstone" creator and all-round creative powerhouse Taylor Sheridan slip through its fingers in the wake of the Skydance/Paramount merger, a move that saw Skydance boss David Ellison take over as Paramount Chairman and CEO. At the time, the new guard promised to "enhance and reinvigorate marquee Paramount and CBS brands," but as Deadline has reported, Sheridan "felt dismissed" by the new executives, prompting him to search for a different company to back his prolific artistic output. Sheridan has arguably been the most important creative at Paramount for some time, not only crafting the behemoth that was "Yellowstone" but also a whole raft of other shows that have proved consistently popular. Now that Ellison and Skydance are calling the shots, however, the man appears to have been put off. According to Deadline, there were numerous issues that led to the "Yellowstone" creator's exit, including extensive notes on movie scripts from the new executives and the potential of having his shows canceled. Now, Sheridan is headed for NBCUniversal and its Peacock streaming platform, which previously hosted "Yellowstone" and looks to be the ideal place for the multi-hyphenate to continue to expand his already considerable TV empire. So, what exactly was it that led to Paramount losing one of the most creative figures in its roster (if not the most creative figure)? Aside from producing major TV hits for Paramount, Taylor Sheridan seemed perfectly primed to spearhead future projects, including the "Call of Duty" film. He's also been prepping a slew of "Yellowstone" spin-offs that will no doubt prove to be as successful as previous offshoots. As such, it looked as though he was firmly planted at Paramount for the foreseeable future. But as Deadline has revealed, multiple issues led him to look elsewhere. The first sign of trouble came after Sheridan submitted his script for the upcoming feature "Capture the Flag." The artist was then said to be surprised and offended to receive the screenplay back replete with notes from Skydance Chief Creative Officer and new co-chair of Paramount Pictures Dana Goldberg. Then, it seems his Nicole-Kidman-led show "Lioness" became imperiled. The new regime is reportedly considering canceling the show, which had previously pushed Sheridan out of his comfort zone but now seems to have pushed him out of Paramount altogether — at least, its potential cancellation did. According to Deadline, the series' budget was an issue, which put it in the firing line. Meanwhile, Paramount+ made a deal for an entirely separate show starring Kidman without telling Sheridan, which evidently only added to his distaste for his new bosses. That by itself would probably be enough to prompt the TV impresario to start looking elsewhere, but there was apparently more to the story. Being the writing machine he is, Sheridan was previously gearing up to debut "The Correspondent," a new series about a war correspondent in Afghanistan. The show was initially slated for a 2026 release before suddenly being removed from the schedule, adding to Sheridan's displeasure and pushing him further away. It's no secret that Taylor Sheridan has been involved in behind-the-scenes clashes, most notably with former "Yellowstone" star Kevin Costner (who faced off against Sheridan and Paramount prior to the show's fifth season and was summarily written out of the series). While that particularly controversial departure was about much more than an argument between Costner and Sheridan, the two stubborn figures clearly had issues. As Deadline notes, that same stubbornness might well have contributed to Sheridan's own departure from Paramount, with the outlet describing him as a "my-way-or-the-highway guy in a cowboy hat." Despite his inflexibility, Sheridan was said to have established a productive working relationship with the previous Paramount suits, who largely left him to do his thing. The new regime, however, appears to want to be much more involved. Deadline speculated that Dana Goldberg, alongside new chair of direct-to-consumer for Paramount and former VP of original content at Netflix, Cindy Holland, might have been planning to make too many changes to the streaming service, which may have contributed to Sheridan's departure. The writer was also clearly tempted by one heck of an offer from NBCUniversal Entertainment. Donna Langley, chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment, is said to have visited Sheridan several times, ingratiating herself with the man enough to make a final meeting between him and the Paramount suits ineffective. Sheridan has now signed a long-term film and television deal with his new company, which starts in 2029 and reportedly could be worth as much as $1 billion. Even without his struggles with Paramount's new leadership, then, Sheridan would have had to have seriously considered leaving with an offer like that.
