TV writer Lauren J. Salkin has sued Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBCUniversal, claiming the creator of “Yellowstone” stole the concept for his blockbuster series from her submitted pilot script.
According to legal documents obtained Friday, Salkin, a TV writer and entertainment journalist, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Sheridan, 54, Paramount Global and NBCUniversal in federal court. The suit alleges that Sheridan lifted the general concept for “Yellowstone” from a pilot script Salkin had submitted to his production company between 2016 and 2017.
Salkin claims she submitted her pilot, titled “Sovereign Nation,” along with supporting materials, to Sheridan’s production company during that window. Per the documents, she received an acknowledgment from Elevate Entertainment stating, “Taylor thanks you very much for your interest. Unfortunately, he’s unavailable for TV projects.” Salkin argues that the materials did land on Sheridan’s desk, and that it was only a matter of months before “Yellowstone” received the green light and subsequently debuted in 2018.
The lawsuit contends that characters, storylines and the overall tone of “Yellowstone” bear striking similarities to her work. Salkin included a detailed breakdown of each character in her court filings to support the claim. She is seeking an injunction to stop the show from any potential ongoing or future copyright infringement, as well as damages that would include profits from the high-profile series and its sprawling franchise.
Sheridan has not publicly addressed the lawsuit. Reps for Sheridan, Paramount and NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening.
The “Yellowstone” creator has previously been open about his creative inspirations and his defiant attitude toward industry gatekeepers. In a July interview with Joe Blow, Sheridan claimed that his “Yellowstone” career was actually inspired by both the book and miniseries of “Lonesome Dove,” which he stumbled upon while in college.
“I said, ‘I want to do that,'” Sheridan recalled. “I don’t know what that is, but that’s what I want to do.”
“Yellowstone’s the punk rock me,” he continued, joking that the show “has no plot.”
“There’s a lot of defiance in the way I do it,” he said. “[So] it’s not surprising the critics hate it. It’s designed for them to hate.”
Sheridan has made clear he has no love lost for studio executives or critics, telling “The Bill Simmons Podcast” in June, “F–k ’em, honestly.”
In the viral moment that launched a television empire, “Yellowstone” premiered in 2018 on Paramount Network, starring Kevin Costner, 69, as John Dutton, the patriarch of a powerful Montana ranching family fighting to hold onto their land against developers, a neighboring Native American reservation and internal family strife. The series aired its fifth and final season in 2024 on Paramount+, concluding one of cable television’s most-watched dramas. The show spawned an entire universe of spinoffs including “1883,” “1923,” “Marshals” and “Dutton Ranch,” cementing Sheridan’s status as one of Hollywood’s most prolific and powerful showrunners.
Salkin’s lawsuit adds to a growing history of offscreen legal disputes surrounding the “Yellowstone” franchise. In November 2023, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Headquarters LLC sued “Yellowstone” star Cole Hauser’s Free Rein Coffee Company for trademark infringement, alleging that the coffee brand’s logo design copied Bosque Ranch’s existing trademark elements. Sheridan’s legal team requested dismissal of that case approximately one month later, and the dispute resolved without public terms disclosed.
The “Yellowstone” universe continues to expand even as the flagship series has concluded. Sheridan’s latest series, “Landman,” premiered in late 2024 on Paramount+ and has drawn significant viewership, though it has also faced scrutiny over its writing and portrayal of the oil industry. The creator has multiple other projects in various stages of development across his exclusive overall deal with Paramount.
Sheridan is scheduled to continue his Paramount+ partnership with additional series launches expected throughout 2025.