Taylor Sheridan‘s TV universe has found immense success — but his projects have also come with many showrunner changes.
After getting his start as an actor, Sheridan started writing scripts for movies. He began his TV empire with Yellowstone, which aired from 2018 to 2024.
Sheridan then created prequels 1883 and 1923, as well as the spinoffs The Dutton Ranch and Marshals. Sheridan has also worked on original shows Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness and Tulsa King.
“My stories have a very simple plot that is driven by the characters as opposed to characters driven by a plot — the antithesis of the way television is normally modeled,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “I’m really interested in the dirty of the relationships in literally every scene.”
As the man behind Yellowstone and its myriad spinoffs, Taylor Sheridan is one of the most important people at Paramount Network — but the Yellowstone universe is only one part of his empire. While other super-producers — Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes, for example — enlist other writers and directors to work on projects bearing […]
Sheridan acknowledged his preference for no writers’ rooms, adding, “But when you hire a room that may not be motivated by those same qualities — and a writer always wants to take ownership of something they’re writing — and I give this directive and they’re not feeling it, then they’re going to come up with their own qualities. So for me, writers rooms, they haven’t worked.”
At the time, the screenwriter reflected on his decision not to compromise especially when it comes to bringing his vision for the show to life.
“When I quit acting, I decided that I am going to tell my stories my way, period. If you don’t want me to tell them, fine. Give them back and I’ll find someone who does — or I won’t, and then I’ll read them in some freaking dinner theater. But I won’t compromise. There is no compromising,” he continued. “There is compromising on things like budget.”
Sheridan added: “You write a thing and it costs what it costs. I will not change a script to meet a budget. … The freedom of the artist to create must be unfettered. If they tell me, ‘You’re going to have to write a check for $540,000 to four people to sit in a room that you never have to meet,’ then that’s between the studio and the guild. But if I have to check in creatively with others for a story I’ve wholly built in my brain, that would probably be the end of me telling TV stories.”
The outlet noted that Sheridan wrote in a one-room “cabinet” he built in Wyoming. “I’ve written many episodes in eight to 10 hours,” he claimed at the time.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the biggest behind the scenes showrunner changes on Sheridan’s shows:
‘Lioness’
While Thomas Brady was originally hired as the showrunner for Lioness, he departed before production began in September 2022. Sheridan replaced Brady — due to creative differences — once the writers’ room wrapped and he rewrote all the scripts to fit his vision for the show.
‘Tulsa King’
The Paramount+ series started with Terence Winter as the showrunner alongside Sheridan. Once Tulsa King was renewed for season 2, Winter resigned as showrunner due to creative differences but returned as the series’ head writer. Sheridan opted not to fill the role of a showrunner for season 2 and instead hired a director and executive producer to oversee day-to-day production.
Dave Erickson went on to join the show as a showrunner for seasons 3. By season 4, Tulsa King went into production without a showrunner in place and relied on Scott Stone, who was an executive in charge of production from 101 Studios, to oversee the show day to day while Winter was back again as a writer.
‘Frisco King’
Erickson was set to showrun the Tulsa King spinoff but was removed from that role before production started. Sheridan took on the role of a creator and writer but opted out of a traditional showrunner.
‘Dutton Ranch’
Us Weekly confirmed in April 2026 that Chad Feehan would not return as the showrunner for the Yellowstone spinoff after completing work on season 1. Feehan, who created Lawmen: Bass Reeves with Sheridan, reportedly departed Dutton Ranch after alleged friction with series stars Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly, among others.
Sheridan and his producing partner David Glasser, along with the two leads, were allegedly more unhappy with how Feehan ran the production than with the scripts.
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