Welcome to the Sheridan-verse: Taylor Sheridan's shows from Yellowstone and 1883 to Special Ops: Lioness

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford in 1923
Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford in 1923 (Image credit: Emmerson Miller/Paramount+)

There's a world of Taylor Sheridan TV shows out there and many viewers are happy to be living in it. Having created, or co-created, shows like Yellowstone, 1883 and a raft of others on their way soon, writer/producer Sheridan is building something that rivals Shonda Rhimes and her Shondaland TV empire in terms of sheer volume. His slate of work could even be billed the "Sheridan-verse" or TSU (Taylor Sheridan Universe).

Some of the defining characteristics of the Sheridan-verse are its hard-nosed characters, rough and tough settings (almost exclusively in America's middle rather than the coasts) and varying twists on many classic western tropes. They also can all be found as part of Paramount's TV lineup.

Here is a rundown of Taylor Sheridan's TV shows, both on-air and in the works.

Sheridan-verse shows on-air

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone (Image credit: Paramount Network)

Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, the owners of one of the largest cattle ranchers in Montana. But as varying threats attempt to encroach on their land, John Dutton and his children will go to all lengths to protect their family legacy.

Taylor Sheridan'w original TV hit started from humble beginnings but has grown into one of the most popular cable shows out there — Yellowstone season 4 had two episodes rank in the top 100 most watched TV programs of 2021 (best of any cable network).

Starring: Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill and Gil Birmingham.
How many seasons: Yellowstone is currently in its fifth and final season.
Where to watch:
- In the US, new episodes of Yellowstone air on Paramount Network. You can catch up with Yellowstone seasons 1-5 on Peacock.
- In the UK, all seasons are available on Paramount Plus.

1883

1883

Isabel May and Faith Hill in 1883 (Image credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)

The driving motivation for the Duttons in Yellowstone is to protect the land that their family has called home for more than 100 years. How the Duttons came to that land is the story at the heart of the prequel series, 1883.

1883 follows James Dutton and his family — wife Margaret, 18-year-old daughter Elsa and 5-year-old son John — as they head west in search of land they can call their own in the last part of uncolonized America. They work alongside a wagon train led by a former Army captain that consists of immigrants looking for a new life.

Starring: Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissman, Audie Rick and James Landry Hébert.
How many seasons: 1883 has one season
Where to watch: Streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus

Mayor of Kingstown

Mayor of Kingstown Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner in Mayor of Kingstown (Image credit: Emerson Miller/ViacomCBS)

Mayor of Kingstown sees Sheridan branching away from the Dutton clan — instead, focusing on the McLusky family. The McLuskys are power brokers in Kingstown, Mich. — where the incarceration business is booming. The family serves both sides of the prison complex. Sheridan was a co-creator on this series with former Yellowstone cast member Hugh Dillon.

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest, Hugh Dillon, Tobi Bamtefa, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird and Aiden Gillen.
How many seasons: There are two seasons to date, with the status of Mayor of Kingstown season 3 undecided.
Where to watch: Streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus. 

1923

Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer holding hands walking through a market in 1923

Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer in 1923 (Image credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)

It's back to the Dutton clan for 1923. But this time it's another generation of Duttons at the center of the drama. As you can guess from clues in the title, this new show follows the Duttons during the Great Depression, Prohibition and a time of western expansion.

Starring: Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn, Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, Aminah Nieves, Brian Geraghty, Timothy Dalton
How many seasons: 1923 season 1 has aired, with a season 2 on the way.
Where to watch: streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.

Tulsa King

Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King

Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King (Image credit: Brian Douglas/Paramount+)

Sylvester Stallone's first starring TV role saw him play gangster Dwight Manfredi, an Italian mobster who is forced to reestablish himself Tulsa, Okla.

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Max Casella, Jay Will, Garrett Hedlund
How many seasons: Tulsa King season 1 has aired, season 2 is on the way
Where to watch: streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus

Special Ops: Lioness

Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly and Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness

Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly and Zoe Saldana in Special Ops: Lioness (Image credit: Luke Varley/Paramount+)

This military drama offers a fictional look at a real-life military program, where female agents are tasked with getting close to the relatives of high-value targets to gather information.

Starring: Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman, Laysla De Oliveira, Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman
How many seasons: Special Ops: Lioness season 1 is currently airing.
Where to watch: Episode 2 will air on Paramount Network July 30. Episode 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Paramount Plus, will all other episodes exclusive to the streaming service.

Sheridan-verse shows coming soon(ish)

Yellowstone sequel series

Yellowstone may be set to end with season 5, but the TV franchise is going to continue with a Yellowstone sequel series. There are very few details available about the new show, though rumors say that Matthew McConaughey could star and characters from Yellowstone may show up, but nothing is confirmed at this time.

However, that will likely change soon enough, as the series has already been given a premiere window of December 2023.

Starring: TBD
When will it debut: December TBD

6666

Jefferson White Yellowstone 6666

Jefferson White at the 6666 ranch in 'Yellowstone' (Image credit: Paramount Network)

Another series that has direct links to Yellowstone is 6666. The Texas-based ranch, featured in Yellowstone season 4, will get its own stand-alone series. Here is the description of the series from Deadline:

"The series takes place when Comanches still ruled West Texas and no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666. Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world class cowboys are born and made."

Sheridan is serving as an executive producer on 6666.

Starring: TBD
When will it debut: TBD 

1883: The Bass Reeves Story

David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo (Image credit: Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Cartier)

Sheridan is teaming up with David Oyelowo (Selma, The Girl Before). Sheridan will produce 1883: The Bass Reeves Story (an 1883 spinoff series) about the Black Wild West lawman, Bass Reeves, who was the inspiration for The Lone Ranger. Oyelowo is starring as Reeves, who is considered a legend of the American frontier.

Sheridan's involvement on 1883: The Bass Reeves Story is as an executive producer and the director for the first two episodes.

Starring: David Oyelowo
When will it debut: TBD 

Land Man

1883 season 1 episode 2

Billy Bob Thornton previously worked with Taylor Sheridan in 1883 (Image credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)

Another new Taylor Sheridan show is Land Man, which is based on Boomtown, an 11-part podcast. The series is set in the boomtowns of West Texas. It follows a crisis manager for an oil company amid the modern-day pursuit for riches in the world of oil rigs.

Land Man is described as an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires that fuel a boom so big it reshapes our climate, our economy and our geopolitics. Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton (Slingblade, Fargo, Bad Santa) has been tapped to star in the series.

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland
When will it debut: TBD, but production is not expected to start until 2023

Other Taylor Sheridan Projects

Taylor Sheridan may be working primarily in TV right now, but he is also an Oscar-nominated writer with an impressive list of movies as credits and the film format is one that he still dips his toe into.

Sheridan’s movie credits include writing the Emily Blunt/Benecio Del Toro thriller Sicario and its sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado, writing the Chris Pine/Ben Foster/Jeff Bridges heist movie Hell or High Water (his Oscar-nominated screenplay), writing and directing the thriller Wind River (starring Marvel stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen), writing the Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse and writing and directing the Angelina Jolie movie Those Who Wish Me Dead.

He also is writing a new movie called Fast, which follows a former U.S. special forces officer who is recruited by the DEA to take down drug dealers who are protected by the CIA.

Get a glimpse of all that's coming up in the Sheridan-verse with this teaser trailer from Paramount Plus. 

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.