The big stories in media right now are all about technology and capital — algorithms and balance sheets: What will AI do to the industry? Who is going to own the industry, and where will they get the money to buy it?
But on Monday, we have a reminder that human beings who make things are still at the core of media. And that some of them still have enough power to reshape the industry on their own.
That’s the story with Taylor Sheridan, who may be the single most powerful creator in TV and streaming right now. The man who makes “Yellowstone” and “Landman” and a slew of other hit shows for Paramount is reportedly leaving the company, and headed to Comcast’s NBCUniversal.
It’s pretty hard to overstate how big a deal Sheridan is: He’s a one-man hit factory for both Red and Blue America, whose shows mix melodrama, violence, and sex alongside lectures about society losing its way. “Yellowstone” alone has generated a reported $2.9 billion in revenue.
Sheridan’s importance wasn’t lost on new Paramount owner David Ellison, who signaled internally and publicly that keeping Sheridan was a priority. And given that Ellison has been making a point of spending freely to keep and recruit other franchises — $1.5 billion to stay in business with the “South Park” creators; $7.7 billion to land the UFC; a fortune for The Duffer Brothers, the guys who make “Stranger Things” for Netflix — you’d assume Ellison would do whatever it took to keep Sheridan working for him.
What happened? Puck’s Matt Belloni, who broke the news, says Sheridan will get a big pay bump from Comcast. But he would have gotten one from Paramount, too. And while Belloni reports that “money wasn’t the big factor here,” there isn’t a lot of detail about what Comcast was offering — and what Paramount refused to do — in order to make the deal. (I’ve asked both companies for comment.)
So this one is a real head-scratcher, especially for someone like Ellison, who very much understands the value of a single megastar. Prior to acquiring Paramount, Ellison’s biggest success in Hollywood was attaching himself to Tom Cruise, which allowed Ellison to produce multiple “Mission Impossible” hits, as well as Cruise’s hugely successful “Top Gun” reboot in 2022. Ellison knows better than most that Hollywood fortunes rise and fall based on who you’re in business with.
Still, there is life after a megastar. Ask Warner Bros., which lost director Christopher Nolan after Jason Kilar’s 2020 HBO Max experiment — the “everything streams” pivot that enraged some talent and drove Nolan to Comcast, where he made “Oppenheimer.” That one generated a ton of Oscars, nearly $1 billion in ticket sales, and cemented Nolan as one of the very few directors who can bring audiences to theaters.
But Warner has thrived without him. The studio’s on a surprising hot streak, powered by filmmakers who aren’t Nolan. You can survive the loss of a star creator. But it’s better when you have one.
