When it comes to corralling viewers, Taylor Sheridan is hardly all hat, no cattle. The ultra-prolific writer-director’s Yellowstone universe shows and his other Paramount+ dramas perform quite strongly, helping to heavily prop up the streamer with its 63 million subscribers. Naturally, however, some shows outpull others. Here, The Hollywood Reporter takes a closer look at all the titles Sheridan has wrangled so far and how they’ve fared during their rollouts.
Yellowstone
Streaming minutes viewed (season 5): 5.58 Billion
Total episodes: 47 | Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
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The show that started it all. Sheridan’s Montana-set dynastic crime drama/soap opera gradually addicted so many fans over the course of five seasons, it became the biggest hit on cable TV. First the show found an audience on Paramount Network, then popped again when it shifted to streamer Peacock, and it still had enough giddyap for censored reruns on CBS to pull in 6.8 million viewers and average 4.6 million during its fifth season. Backstage drama revolving around star Kevin Costner plus the Hollywood strikes have delayed (and shortened) its future, with the show wrapping this year with an unknown number of final episodes.
1923
Minutes viewed: 4.86 Billion
Episodes: 8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
The second Yellowstone prequel brought in heavy hitters Harrison Ford and Helen Mirrento play a struggling generation of Duttons, this time trying to save the ranch from a sinister Timothy Dalton. The result was Sheridan’s biggest audience on Paramount+. Conceived as a limited series, Sheridan split 1923 into two seasons, with filming on the second still to get underway with an unknown number of final episodes.
1883
Minutes viewed: 3.50 Billion
Episodes: 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Sheridan’s first Yellowstone prequel was a wagon-train epic that showed his knack for clever casting choices (country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw stunned viewers with their acting chops) and rather brutal storytelling moves (that ending!). The limited series’ premiere on Paramount Network marked the biggest cable TV debut in six years with 4.9 million viewers. Most important: 1883 proved Yellowstone could be a franchise.
Tulsa King
Minutes viewed: 3.36 Billion
Episodes: 9 | Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Sure, but can Sheridan make a TV hit without all those cowboys, horses and “[cattle lowing]” in the subtitles? Turned out, yes: Sylvester Stallonestars as a former mobster who finds new opportunities in Oklahoma. While the show had behind-the-scenes creative conflicts (showrunner Terence Winterstepped down), Tulsa King’s ratings nearly matched 1883. A second season is expected to start production this year (surely somebody wants that showrunner gig … right?)
Special Ops: Lioness
Minutes viewed: 2.72 Billion
Episodes: 8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
This modern-day CIA action thriller has an impressive cast that includes Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Critics scoffed a bit at Sheridan’s efforts to pen a largely female-led drama, but viewers still showed up. No word yet on a second season, however.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Minutes viewed: 2.29 Billion
Episodes: 8 | Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
An anthology series focused on real-life historic figures in the Old West, it chronicled the first Black lawman (played by David Oyelowo) west of the Mississippi in its debut season. Created by Chad Feehan, Lawmen became the best-reviewed of Sheridan’s non-Yellowstone shows, and a renewal verdict is pending.
Mayor of Kingstown
Minutes viewed (S2): 1.54 Billion
Episodes: 10 (Per season) | Rotten Tomatoes: 42%
The least loved (and viewed) of Sheridan’s TV work, Kingstown is a crime drama following a powerful family in a Michigan town. The show delivered a somewhat modest performance during its second season, but its third (now in production) is likely to draw a surge of interest as it marks star Jeremy Renner’s return to acting following his near-fatal snowplow accident last year.
Upcoming Shows
There’s 1944 (a Yellowstone prequel following the Duttons during World War II) and 2024 — the first Yellowstone sequel (with Matthew McConaughey in talks for the lead), which will bring the Yellowstone brand home to Paramount+ instead of Peacock. There’s also the promising Landman, a modern-day Texas oil tycoon drama starring Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore and Jon Hamm, coming this fall.
Source: Nielsen. Measurements for Paramount+ shows are for 12 weeks after premiere; Yellowstone is weeks in streaming top 10.
This story first appeared in the Feb. 28 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
