Taylor Sheridan out at Paramount + John Dickerson out at Paramount-owned CBS + a further 2000 employees also out at Paramount
The news that Paramount has bungled its relationship with Taylor Sheridan feels both shocking and unsurprising.
Without question, Taylor Sheridan is both the most prolific and most successful creator Paramount has, with his shows dominating the top 10 on US streaming charts. Sheridan is the glue that holds Paramount+ together.
How could Paramount bungle that? You’d think they would do anything to keep him happy? But also, one understands how the new ownership would engage in actions that could create a frosty relationship with Sheridan.
New owner David Ellison wanted a new approach to the scripted streaming business, so brought on former Netflix creative head Cindy Holland to run it. She has the runs on the board that make that seem like a very smart hire (whether she can recapture that mid 2010’s Netflix magic remains to be seen). Bringing on Holland meant the exit of former Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy, with whom Sheridan had a close working relationship.
And then you have Cindy Holland reportedly questioning some of the very large budgets on Sheridan’s shows. As per Matt Belloni, who first broke the news:
Sheridan was hearing about how Paramount+ needed to be revamped, and about how expensive his shows had become. (Some, like Lioness and the Yellowstone spinoff 1923, carried budgets in the range of $15 million to $20 million an episode, while others, like Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown, cost much less.)
Questioning large budgets like that absolutely should be something that Holland does as part of her remit.
But you can also understand how it could piss Sheridan off.
It led to Sheridan looking elsewhere and landing at the doorstep of NBCUniversal where he will be able to make movies and TV shows. While his movie deal expires at Paramount in the coming months, he’ll still be producing TV with them until 2028. And there’ll also be the likelihood of spin-offs from his existing shows still finding a place on Paramount+ for years beyond that.
As per the New York Times:
Poaching the hitmaker is a boon for NBCUniversal and its streaming service, Peacock, and a blow to Paramount. But there is a big catch: Mr. Sheridan’s Paramount deal for television projects does not expire until the end of 2028. The NBCUniversal deal will go into effect in early 2029, the people said.
NBCUniversal’s deal was orchestrated by Donna Langley, the company’s entertainment chairman. Ms. Langley, the longtime leader of the company’s film division, took full control of the company’s television properties last year. Ms. Langley is known for having close relationships with directors like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg.
The deal could telegraph to Hollywood that NBCUniversal is very much still in the entertainment business. After the company made an enormous deal with the National Basketball Association — it is also on the brink of signing a new contract with Major League Baseball — some in Hollywood wondered just how many TV projects it could afford.
2000+ Paramount staff expected to be cut at Paramount
Deadline is reporting that Paramount will lay off around 1000 staff on Wednesday in the US. An additional 1000 jobs will be cut at a date still to be decided.
While the cuts are US-focused, it is understood that “international divisions also planning cutbacks in the coming weeks.”
Read: Deadline
John Dickerson out at CBS News
Someone I rate highly is US news anchor John Dickerson. I’ve been listening to him for years on the Slate Political Gabfest where he’s always a good voice of context and reason. I also really liked The Daily Report with John Dickerson (which later evolved into CBS News+), which delivered the daily news with a strong dose of… wait for it… context and reason.
He’s a second generation CBS newsman, with his mother Nancy an industry trailblazer as the first female news correspondent at CBS.
This year he was appointed as the co-host of the CBS evening news show, which proved to be a ratings disaster with the news show criticised for ignoring some of the bigger, buzzier news stories of the day. A reasonable criticism.
News today is that he is leaving CBS, staying on air until the end of the year. There’s no word on whether his exit will see a revamp of the evening news show.
It isn’t clear why he is leaving CBS, whether he was pushed out by the new regime under Bari Weiss, or whether he made the decision. One could see either scenario being possible/likely.
He’s not exciting news talent, but he is thoughtful news talent and there should be more like him. I’m pretty sure it won’t be long until we see him picked up elsewhere. Maybe over at the newly rebranded MS NOW.
Speaking of…
MS NOW announces its launch / rebrand date
MSNBC will officially switch over to the new MS NOW brand name on November 15, following the channels move from NBC/Comcast over to new crapco Versant.
(Yeah, ‘crapco’ is probably unfair…).
The idea is to leave the NBC aspect of its branding behind. Back in August I wrote about the rebrand.
I thought it was a bit dumb then and nothing has changed in the months that have followed. That said, I don’t hate it and it does feel like a brand change where a few months from now, most people will have just moved on and it’s not really an issue.
That said, the more that I see MS NOW written, I keep on thinking it reads like a 70s feminist magazine title. Ms Now.
Quote of the day
Jon Stewart on his plans to continue on with The Daily Show once his contract is up at the end of the year:
“We’re working on staying. Look, the other thing to remember is it’s not as clear cut as all that … They’ve already done things that I’m upset about. But then if I had integrity, maybe I would stand up and go, ‘I’m out.’ Or maybe the integrity thing to do would be to stay in it and keep fighting in the foxhole.”
YouTube viewing insights reveals UK oddity
Research firm Digital i found something a bit odd when taking a look at the most-watched YouTube channels in every country: Not only does UK viewership dramatically over-index on News content, but it also watches far less local content with a heavy US lean.
Digital i checked out the top 10 YouTube channels, ranked by percentage of total accounts reached, in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the US during the first half of this year.
Now, there is a huge caveat to the idea that the UK are mostly watching US content. That is true in categories except for News & Politics, where nine out of ten channels were local UK channels. And considering that the News & Politics category dwarfs other categories, it suggests UK viewers are still watching a whole lot of local perspectives on YouTube.
In the UK, only 12 out of those 30 channels (40%) were UK-based, whereas local channels in the other five measured countries all ranged between 25 (83%) and 29 (97%) of their respective top 30 ranked channels.
No local channels appeared on the UK’s top 10 Gaming list, which was instead topped by US-based IGN, and only three (BBC, This Morning and Still Watching Netflix) appeared on its entertainment list.
Nine out of the 10 news/politics channels for the UK were local, but US-based ABC News also appeared. Of the six measured countries, the UK was the only example where a non-local channel entered the news/politics top 10 list.
Something I find interesting is that the UK is mostly watching US-based Gaming channels. When I was a young teen reading a lot of video game magazines (I felt like a dinosaur typing that), the bulk were all published out of the UK. It suggests that there was a time where the UK could support a large number of media outlets reporting in the space. I’m not a massive gamer, so this isn’t something I follow closely enough to know, but this does have me wondering what changed in the market.
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News Desk
Ivy Mak, occasional actor and TV exec, has been appointed as Commissioning Editor - Scripted and Factual for ABC Children and Family. Source: Linkedin
Only Murders in The Building is off to London for season 6. One presumes our hapless heroes will be facing off against Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and his sister Lady Penelope Peasoup. That may be too obscure a joke and I apologise. Read: Deadline
A Crash Bandicoot animated show is in development at Netflix. Read: Dark Horizons
There may be a South Park / Fortnite crossover in the works. Consider this firmly a rumour at this stage. Read: Primetimer
Discovery Global, the Warner Bros Discovery spin-off company that will manage the linear channels post-split, has announced an upfront event on May 13 2026. I hope they are able to get a refund from the venue if they need to cancel… Read: Deadline
David Fincher’s Netflix film The Adventures of Cliff Booth may get a cinema release ahead of debuting on the platform. Read: Variety
Star Wars: A New Hope will get an IMAX release in 2027 to mark the 50th anniversary of its release. It isn’t clear whether this will be a 4k version of the original release, or the special edition produced by George Lucas for the movie’s 20th anniversary in 1997. Just to stick the knife in, my friends, we are approaching the 30th anniversary of the 20th anniversary re-release… Read: Polygon
Trailer Park
Return To Paradise, a show made by the BBC for Australia’s ABC, based on IP from BBC series Death in Paradise, will return for season 2 on the BBC this Friday on Oct 31 ahead of the ABC where it will launch mid-November. Got all that?
He Had It Coming, which looks mostly funny from this trailer (I am very keen to check out a preview), debuts on Aussie streamer Stan Nov 20.
The weeks ahead for HBO Max’s IT: Welcome To Derry.
Last Samurai Standing debuts Nov 13 on Netflix.
In the late 19th century during the Meiji period, 292 warriors, including Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada), gather at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto at nightfall, lured by the promise of a huge cash prize. Each given a wooden tag, they join a vicious game in which they must steal the tags of their fellow participants and reach Tokyo to win the prize money. Under the veil of night, the temple grounds are filled with unease and the presence of bloodthirsy warriors. When the signal is given to begin the game, the combatants launch into their relentless battle for survival.
Three Idiots in Kenya (great name) debuts on Netflix Nov 25.
Once a far-off promise, now a reality -- three buddies finally hit the road in Kenya. Get ready for adventure, banter, and maybe even a giraffe selfie.
Paul McCartney: Man on The Run debuts on Prime Video in February.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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