Taylor Sheridan Overhauls His TV Universe: New Showrunners for Tulsa King and Dutton Ranch

Taylor Sheridan has built a TV empire by doing things his way — and if you have watched even a couple of his shows, that probably tracks. The part that keeps surprising people is how often the showrunner chair on his series turns into a revolving door.

How Sheridan builds his world (and why that causes friction)

Sheridan started out acting, pivoted into writing features, and then went full TV mogul with Yellowstone, which ran from 2018 to 2024. From there, he spun up prequels 1883 and 1923, plus spinoffs The Dutton Ranch and Marshals, and original series like Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness, and Tulsa King.

His approach is laser-focused on character over plot, and he is famously not a fan of big writers rooms. In his view, writers want ownership, rooms dilute intent, and that does not serve the kind of stories he wants to tell. He has said flat out that he will not rewrite to meet a budget and balks at the idea of the studio cutting a $540,000 check for four writers he would never even meet just to satisfy a room requirement. He has also written in, yes, a one-room "cabinet" he built in Wyoming — their word — and claims he can bang out an episode in eight to ten hours. Efficient is one way to put it.

"When I quit acting, I decided that I am going to tell my stories my way, period... I will not change a script to meet a budget... If I have to check in creatively with others for a story I have wholly built in my brain, that would probably be the end of me telling TV stories."

All of that explains why the showrunner situation on his series can get messy. If you are steering one of his shows, you are basically managing production without stepping on the vision. Easier said than done.

The showrunner shuffle, show by show

• Lioness
  Thomas Brady was hired as showrunner but left before cameras rolled in September 2022 over creative differences. After the writers room wrapped, Sheridan stepped in, rewrote all the scripts, and ran the show himself to line everything up with his vision.
• Tulsa King
  Terence Winter launched the Paramount+ series as showrunner alongside Sheridan. After the renewal, Winter exited the showrunner role ahead of season 2 due to creative differences but returned as head writer. Sheridan chose not to replace the showrunner for season 2, instead installing a director and an executive producer to handle day-to-day production. Dave Erickson later came in to showrun season 3. By season 4, the show went into production with no showrunner again; Scott Stone, an executive in charge of production at 101 Studios, managed the daily grind while Winter was back on board as a writer. If that sounds like an unusual way to run a major series, you are not wrong.
• Frisco King (Tulsa King spinoff )
  Erickson was set to showrun but was removed before production began. Sheridan created and wrote the spinoff but once again opted out of naming a traditional showrunner.
• Dutton Ranch (Yellowstone spinoff)
  In April 2026, Us Weekly confirmed that Chad Feehan would not return as showrunner after completing season 1. Feehan, who created Lawmen: Bass Reeves with Sheridan, reportedly left after alleged friction with series leads Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly, among others. The frustration, per the reporting, was less about the scripts and more about how Feehan ran the production. Sheridan, his producing partner David Glasser, and the two stars were said to be unhappy with the way things were managed on set.

Bottom line: Sheridan writes fast, keeps creative control tight, and does not bend to the traditional TV machine. That can make for addictive shows — and, behind the curtain, some choppy waters for whoever tries to captain the ship next to him.