{"id":5797,"date":"2026-08-23T04:14:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T04:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797"},"modified":"2026-08-23T04:14:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T04:14:49","slug":"taylor-sheridan-accused-of-stealing-yellowstone-idea-from-tv-writers-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\nTaylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBC Universal are all being sued by a writer who says Sheridan stole her idea for a TV show and used it to create Yellowstone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Meghan Markle Reportedly Dropped From Guy Ritchie\u2019s \u2018The Gentlemen\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Friday, TV writer and entertainment journalist Lauren J. Salkin claims she submitted a pilot script, show bible and pitch deck for a show called Sovereign Nation<\/em> to Sheridan\u2019s reps at his management company, Elevate Entertainment, which is also named as a defendant in the suit, in late 2016 and early 2017.<\/p>\n

\n\tSovereign Nation, which Salkin spent more than 10 years developing, is described in the complaint, which was viewed by The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, as a \u201cdramatic television series centered on tribal governance, casino-driven economic power and a modern war over land and development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSalkin alleges that she received a response from Elevate on Feb. 1, 2017 saying that Sheridan was \u201cunavailable for TV projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWithin months, Paramount greenlit Sheridan\u2019s Yellowstone<\/em>,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show premiered on the Paramount Network on June 20, 2018 and later began streaming on Peacock.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe suit says Yellowstone<\/em> featured \u201cspecific expressive choices already embodied in Salkin\u2019s materials\u201d including \u201ca tribal casino functioning as the institutional center of political and development power; a signature confrontation staged in the tribal chairman\u2019s casino office over expansion beyond reservation boundaries; the use of trust land, the absence of zoning restrictions and a 99-year lease structure as the concrete mechanism for that expansion; and recurring master-plan imagery deployed to dramatize the struggle for territorial control.\u201d Salkin also argues that Yellowstone<\/em> followed several of her proposed casting recommendations for key roles in Sovereign Nation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Before \u2018The Pitt,\u2019 There Was \u2018St. Elsewhere\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCopyright law does not protect the abstract idea of a Western, a land dispute, an Indian casino or a powerful family \u2014 and that is not Plaintiff\u2019s claim,\u201d the complaint states. \u201cThe infringement alleged here lies in the copying of Salkin\u2019s particular expressive choices and their coordinated selection and arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe suit also notes that a senior HBO scripted TV executive who had reviewed materials for Sovereign Nation<\/em> later told her he recognized similarities in Yellowstone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tSalkin argues that the hit Kevin Costner-led series, which has spawned numerous spinoffs, \u201chas generated billions of dollars\u201d for the defendants, of which she \u201chas received nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSalkin is seeking damages and profits tied to alleged copyright infringement and injunctive relief preventing future infringement.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is a classic David-versus-Goliath situation,\u201d Salkin\u2019s attorney Paul B. Lackey told THR<\/em>. \u201cShe spent years putting together the specific and multi-layered framework for a story that has become the biggest streaming success of all time. She has watched the vast commercial success of this story that was stolen from her and decided that enough was enough.\u00a0 We will do everything in our power to get her justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tReps for Sheridan, Paramount, Elevate and NBCUniversal have not yet responded to THR<\/em>\u2018s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Read more Michael Wright, Star of \u2018The Five Heartbeats\u2019 and \u2018Sugar Hill,\u2019 Dies at 70<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBC Universal are being sued by a writer who says Sheridan stole her TV show idea and used it to create Yellowstone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[991,115,968,666],"class_list":["post-5797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-nbcuniversal","tag-paramount","tag-taylor-sheridan","tag-yellowstone"],"yoast_head":"\nTaylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBC Universal are being sued by a writer who says Sheridan stole her TV show idea and used it to create Yellowstone.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"headline\":\"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797\"},\"wordCount\":531,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"nbcuniversal\",\"Paramount\",\"Taylor Sheridan\",\"Yellowstone\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797\",\"name\":\"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":810},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5797#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Property Moves\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves","og_description":"Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBC Universal are being sued by a writer who says Sheridan stole her TV show idea and used it to create Yellowstone.","og_url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797","og_site_name":"US Property Moves","article_published_time":"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"headline":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch","datePublished":"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797"},"wordCount":531,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp","keywords":["nbcuniversal","Paramount","Taylor Sheridan","Yellowstone"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797","name":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch - US Property Moves","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-23T04:14:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6ed551fb0a33e1d92bc233013e48f29c.webp","width":1440,"height":810},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5797#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Taylor Sheridan Accused of Stealing \u2018Yellowstone\u2019 Idea From TV Writer\u2019s Pitch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/","name":"US Property Moves","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/uspropertymoves.com"],"url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}