A prequel to the “Yellowstone” series takes place at Paramount Plus under an extension of the series co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s general agreement with ViacomCBS.
The prequel, “Y: 1883”, follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains towards the last bastion of untamed America. It is described as a total retelling of western expansion and an intense study of a family fleeing poverty in search of a better future in America’s promised land – Montana.
The show will debut at Paramount Plus in 2021, with a special preview scheduled to air during the Super Bowl this Sunday. Executive production will be by Sheridan, “Yellowstone” co-creator John Linson, Art Linson, David Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari.
“Taylor Sheridan is a visionary creative whose work has reinvented genres and has accumulated fans around the world; we are thrilled that he calls ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment home, ”said Chris McCarthy, president of MTV Entertainment. “We couldn’t be more excited to develop our partnership with him, expand the Yellowstone universe and showcase Taylor’s unlimited talent across all of our brands and platforms.”
“Y: 1883” is the first of many projects for Sheridan under the extended agreement, which was originally signed less than a year ago. He will create cross-platform content with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios under the multi-year pact, which includes five cycles per year of script series and procedures. The content will be exclusive to ViacomCBS, including, but not limited to, Paramount Network, Paramount Plus, CBS and other brands and platforms under the control of the media giant.
Expanding the “Yellowstone” brand beyond the Paramount Network is no surprise, considering that it is currently the top scripted series on cable TV. The show continued to be a huge draw for the cabler in its third season, with the end of season three attracting 5.2 million viewers. It was renewed for a fourth season on the Paramount Network last year, in conjunction with the announcement of Sheridan’s general deal.
“I’m excited to continue the ‘Yellowstone’ story and I thank Chris, Keith and David for allowing me to continue to expand the family to the fans,” said Sheridan.
Variety reported exclusively in September that Paramount Network is exiting the scripted series game, except for “Yellowstone”. Instead, the network is reorganizing itself to focus on films made for TV. Instead, ViacomCBS is moving much of its new scripted content to Paramount Plus, which is the renamed CBS All Access streaming service.
“Taylor Sheridan is a master at building worlds and has a unique voice that makes him one of today’s leading creators, making content that is unmissable,” said David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios. “Our mission at 101 is to produce content that provokes cultural conversations with renowned creators at the head of our projects, and that is exactly what we envisioned for this collaboration. This agreement is an extension of our longstanding relationship with ViacomCBS, MTV Entertainment Group and Taylor and we are looking forward to our future projects. “