NBCUniversal Entertainment chair Donna Langley says the opening to bring Taylor Sheridan over from Paramount wasn’t his television slate—it was a film deal with fewer teeth than his TV arrangement. Speaking Thursday at Bloomberg’s Screentime event, she described the move as a timing play that began with what she called “disruption and instability” at Paramount.
Film opened the door
“There’s just a moment to kind of look around the marketplace and see if there’s a competitive advantage,” Langley said. She started the conversation with Sheridan about film because she knew his Paramount film deal was a first-look arrangement that did not carry the same weight as his television deal.
“That’s how it started, and then we just got to talking and one thing led to another,” she added.
A staggered payout
The NBCUniversal arrangement is not an instant television swap. The film component takes effect in 2026, while the TV side begins only after Sheridan fulfils his Paramount commitments in 2028. That gives NBCUniversal a marquee creative name now and a delayed payoff for its television business.
Sheridan built much of his recent value in TV. After writing big-screen titles such as “Sicario,” “Hell or High Water” and “Wind River,” he created “Yellowstone” in 2018 and a franchise of spinoffs, including “1923,” “The Madison” and “Dutton Ranch.” His Paramount television slate also includes “Lioness,” “Landman,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Marshals.”
Why the structure matters
For entertainment marketers and dealmakers, the lesson is in the leverage. Paramount’s TV commitment was deep, but its film relationship was a first-look deal—a structure that gives a studio a first option on projects rather than a guaranteed production path. By targeting that thinner part of the deal, NBCUniversal changed the conversation from total compensation to format rights.
- Creative track record: Sheridan went from “Sicario” and “Wind River” to the “Yellowstone” universe.
- Timeline: NBCU film component starts in 2026; TV remains at Paramount until 2028.
- Market timing: Langley cited disruption and instability at Paramount as the opening.
What to watch
Sheridan is already returning to his cinema roots. He wrote the scripts for Paramount’s upcoming “Call of Duty Movie” and “Sicario 3,” which keeps him in the film conversation before the NBCUniversal film pipeline fully begins. For competitors, the playbook is clear: audit the right the incumbent has under-structured, then lead with that.
Source: Variety
