Taylor Sheridan is being sued by Lauren J. Salkin, a television writer who has claimed he stole her idea, turning it into his hit show Yellowstone.
Salkin filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Sheridan, 56, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Friday.
In the complaint, Sheridan, his management company Elevate Entertainment, Paramount and NBCUniversal are all named defendants, alongside several others.
Salkin alleges that she presented a pilot, concept, storylines, and pitch deck for a show called Sovereign Nation to Sheridan’s representatives at Elevate Entertainment in late 2016 and early 2017.
Elsewhere in the complaint, obtained and reviewed by the Daily Mail, she describes the show as a ‘dramatic television series centered on tribal governance, casino-driven economic power, and a modern war over land and development.’
Salkin’s lead attorney, Paul B. Lackey, said in a statement to the Daily Mail on Saturday: ‘This is a classic David versus Goliath situation. She 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. We will do everything in our power to get her justice.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Sheridan, Elevate Entertainment, NBCUniversal, and Paramount for comment.
Taylor Sheridan is being sued by Lauren J. Salkin, a television writer who has claimed he stole her idea, turning it into his hit show Yellowstone; Sheridan pictured in June
The series was led by Kevin Costner from 2018-2024
Salkin alleges that on February 1, 2017, the company informed her that Sheridan had passed on her idea.
According to her lawsuit, the correspondence specifically stated: ‘Taylor thanks you very much for your interest. Unfortunately, he’s unavailable for TV projects.’
The complaint further alleges that Paramount greenlit Yellowstone ‘within months’ of rejecting her pitch.
In her complaint, Salkin highlights plot devices, character functions, and story mechanisms in Yellowstone that she claims are parallels to Sovereign Nation.
Additionally, she alleges that Yellowstone cast several of her proposed recommendations for key roles in her series.
Salkin claims a senior creative executive at HBO who reviewed both her materials for Sovereign Nation and Sheridan’s for Yellowstone later told her he recognized the similarities between the two projects.
Per the complaint, the executive said he immediately ‘terminated Sheridan’s project at HBO for that reason.’
The complaint points out that the Yellowstone franchise – including 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch – ‘has generated billions of dollars’ and Salkin ‘has received nothing.’
Salkin (pictured) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Sheridan, 56, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Friday
The complaint points out that the Yellowstone franchise – including 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch – ‘has generated billions of dollars’ and Salkin ‘has received nothing’
Join the discussion
How should Hollywood handle disputes when writers claim their ideas have been stolen by major creators?
While no total amount is listed in the filing, Salkin is seeking damages and profits related to the alleged copyright infringement, plus an injunction to prevent the defendants from continued use of her copyrighted material.
This comes just days after Sheridan shocked fans when he revealed that the prospective Yellowstone spinoff 6666 has been scrapped.
The show was initially announced in 2021.
In Yellowstone, Jefferson White’s character Jimmy Hurdstrom leaves the show’s Montana setting to work on the real 6666 Ranch in Texas.
Sheridan acquired the property after its previous owner’s death, sparking rumors a new series could be set there.
He has now confirmed that the project will not proceed because he does not want to ‘trivialize’ the lives of the real people he employs on the ranch.
On an episode of the podcast Rodeo Time, he stated, ‘I would never fictionalize that ranch,’ noting that ‘people thought that that was gonna be,’ but ‘that’s never gonna happen.’
