Taylor Sheridan’s Future at Paramount Just Got a Crucial Update Post-Merger

Taylor Sheridan’s hold on Paramount+ just got a fresh vote of confidence from the studio’s new leadership.

Following the official merger between Paramount and Skydance, Paramount’s newly appointed Chair of Direct-to-Consumer Cindy Holland made her first public remarks about the platform’s future — and put Sheridan’s sprawling TV empire front and center.

“We want to entertain all audiences around the world on Paramount+ today,” Holland said during a press conference on Wednesday on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. “We have a really great foundation, which is the Taylor Sheridan universe. We also have incredible CBS next-day, live sports, a lot from the cable networks, franchises like Star Trek, so many series. We’re seeking to expand that and make sure that we’re offering programming for everybody — not just occasionally, not just for the one thing, but hopefully a daily habit for all audiences.”

What Does This Mean for Taylor Sheridan?

It’s a strong signal for Sheridan’s slate, which includes (deep breath, here) Yellowstone, 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lioness, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and the upcoming NOLA King starring Samuel L. Jackson. Let’s not even mention the 800 spin-offs planned, either. In recent years, these series have driven some of Paramount+’s biggest engagement numbers and helped define the streamer’s brand.

New Paramount CEO David Ellison echoed the commitment to originals, saying the budget for streaming content will grow — though he declined to share specific figures. That investment has already taken shape in other areas: the first major post-merger deal was a massive seven-year, $7.7 billion agreement with UFC, bolstering Paramount+’s live sports lineup. While UFC programming aligns with the male-skewing audiences that Sheridan’s dramas and Star Trek often attract, Paramount+ also benefits from the female-leaning appeal of CBS series available the next day.

For Holland, who previously spent 18 years at Netflix (nine of those as VP of Original Content), the approach is familiar. At Netflix, she helped transform the platform into an original programming powerhouse with hits like House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, Narcos, Stranger Things, The Crown, and The Queen’s Gambit. Now, she’s bringing that playbook to Paramount+, supported by a leadership team that includes former Netflix and Sister collaborators Efrain Miron (EVP, Head of Content Strategy & Licensing, DTC) and Jane Wiseman (EVP, Head of Originals, DTC).

In the past year, Paramount+ has been in something of a holding pattern, greenlighting few new series outside of established brands like Sheridan’s and Showtime’s Dexter, but that all might be about to change.