Paramount will pay handsomely for Taylor Sheridan's Universe.
Including "Yellowstone" and "1923," Sheridan's series have been successful but costly for the network.
Paramount spent $22 million on one episode of "1923," starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sheridan tends to control everything about his shows, including filming sites and farm animals. The WSJ said that Paramount pays Sheridan for his horses, cattle, and wranglers. Sheridan receives another network payday when "Yellowstone" films on his ranch.
Paramount pays $50,000 a week to film at one of Sheridan's ranches and $25 a cow to rent cattle from the show's creator. Sheridan's "cowboy camp" trains performers.
Plus, Sheridan was paid to write and produce "Yellowstone," plus other spinoffs. In an Atlantic interview, Sheridan said he sought control before releasing "Yellowstone".
The director told Viacom, which owns Paramount, that the series will have no writers' room, no notes, and no outline. All Sheridan wanted from Viacom was money.
After five seasons, "Yellowstone," despite its success, is ending due to schedule issues with Kevin Costner. November will screen the second half of the Western's fifth and final season, followed by an unannounced sequel in December.