‘Yellowstone’ Creator Taylor Sheridan Is Expanding His Paramount Universe Even Further With ‘Land Man’
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan signed a nine-figure deal with ViacomCBS earlier this year. As a result, the media titan has a number of new projects in the works for both the Paramount Network and streamer Paramount+. The series are not all westerns, though.
Sheridan is expanding his Paramount universe with a series about the Texas oil and gas industry titled Land Man.
There are 2 ‘Yellowstone’ spinoffs in development
After Sheridan signed his deal, it was immediately revealed that he had two Yellowstone spinoffs in development — Y: 1883 and 6666 (working title).
Y: 1883 will go back in time to the late 19th century and tell the story of how the Dutton family acquired their land at the Yellowstone ranch. Meanwhile, 6666 is a present-day rancher drama that takes place at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas.
In addition to his westerns, Sheridan also has Mayor of Kingstown in production, starring Jeremy Renner. That series focuses on the incarceration industry and the fictional Kingstown Penitentiary in Michigan.
There’s also spy drama Lioness, about a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist in an attempt to bring down the organization.
‘Land Man’ is based on a podcast
The sixth series that Sheridan has in production is Land Man, which is based on a podcast about the West Texas oil boom. Titled Boomtown, the 11-part podcast from Texas Monthly was hosted by former roughneck Christian Wallace.
The podcast centered around the oil “boomtowns” of West Texas, as Wallace walked his listeners through what happened in his hometown of Permian Basin — the biggest oil boom in the history of the United States.
The ‘Yellowstone’ creator has a lot of source material for ‘Land Man’
Boomtown wasn’t about the billionaires who run oil and gas companies. But it did give listeners an inside look at the differences between those who run the companies and the field landman. Wallace’s podcast covered land management, the boom’s effect on real estate and the locals in the area, and what happened when the boom went bust.
There are stories about everything from Texas high school football to the surge in the local sex work and strip club industry. The source material gives Sheridan a lot to work with for his new series.
‘Land Man’ focuses on greed
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Land Man is an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires” fueling a boom so big that it reshaped the climate, the economy, and geopolitics.
“It really focuses on greed,” Sheridan explained. “The very best and the very worst of man, of humanity. And that is a story worth telling and worth exploring.”
Originally intended for the Paramount Network, it’s now been revealed that Land Man will only be available on streamer Paramount+ when it premieres.
The ‘Yellowstone’ creator wants A-list actors
Sheridan’s casting strategy going into Yellowstone was to get the biggest A-lister he could find to lead the series. He wants to bring movie stars to the small screen to produce great TV. That’s exactly what happened when he teamed up with Kevin Costner.
His strategy was the same for Mayor of Kingstown, as Sheridan has Renner in the lead role. It’s not clear yet who the big name will be in Land Man. But considering Sheridan’s reputation in Hollywood, there could be some big names lined up for the part. Unfortunately, no casting announcements for Land Man have been made just yet.
Paramount has yet to announce premiere dates for Sheridan’s new series. Yellowstone season 4 is scheduled to premiere in November 2021. Seasons 1 through 3 of Yellowstone are available on Peacock.
