Writer sues Taylor Sheridan and studios claiming Yellowstone was stolen from her idea
Writer sues Taylor Sheridan and studios claiming Yellowstone was stolen from her idea
Aashna Sat, August 22, 2026 at 7:56 AM UTC
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Writer sues Taylor Sheridan and studios claiming Yellowstone was stolen from her idea ©YouTube/Yellowstone Universe
Taylor Sheridan, along with NBCUniversal and Paramount, has been sued by entertainment journalist and TV writer Lauren J. Salkin, who alleges that their hit neo-Western drama Yellowstone was stolen from her ideas, according to TMZ.
Yellowstone is Taylor Sheridan's critically acclaimed and massively successful drama series on Paramount, which follows the Dutton family's internal conflicts over the titular ranch and other land-development interests. The series, which wrapped its five-season run in December 2024, stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham in key roles and has spawned multiple spin-off series.
According to Salkin's recent claims, Yellowstone was stolen from her ideas from a Pilot script she submitted to Sheridan's company in 2016.
More on this in our story.
Taylor Sheridan faces lawsuit for Yellowstone over alleged idea theft
A shot of Sheridan with the Yellowstone cast (Image via YouTube/Yellowstone Universe)
According to the outlet, Salkin claims that she submitted a Pilot script and additional materials for a project titled"Sovereign Nation" to Taylor Sheridan's production company back in 2016 and 2017. Salkin is certain that her materials were reviewed, as she received the following reply from the company:
"Taylor thanks you very much for your interest. Unfortunately, he's unavailable for TV projects."
However, Salkin was shocked when Paramount greenlit Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone, which premiered in June 2018 and shared alleged similarities with her Pilot script. Salkin claims that the main characters and many central storylines, including the war over land, are too similar to her script for it to be a coincidence. The outlet reports that Salkin has also provided a character-by-character breakdown from her 2016 script in documents submitted in California on Friday.
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For Taylor Sheridan's alleged idea theft, Salkin has asked for an injunction to stop the show & future infringement, plus unspecified damages, including profits from the hit franchise.
More details about the Yellowstone franchise
Before Salkin's claims, Taylor Sheridan had revealed in numerous interviews that Yellowstone was developed from his own decades-long background as a cowboy and his transition from struggling actor to screenwriter. Sheridan, who grew up around ranch life in Texas, worked with livestock, broke horses, and competed in cutting and reining events before achieving massive success in Hollywood.
In a July interview with Joe Blow, Sheridan also revealed that hisYellowstone career was inspired by the book and miniseries of “Lonesome Dove,” which he stumbled upon while in college.
In addition to a successful five-season run from June 2018 to December 2024, Sheridan's hit Western franchise has spawned many spin-offs, namely 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch. The latter are direct sequels to the flagship series, which continue the respective stories of John Dutton's children, Kayce and Beth (and her husband Rip), after the events of the Season 5 finale.
On the other hand, the first two prequel series, which take place in the titular years after which the series are named, explore the origins of the Dutton family. While 1883 explores how the Duttons originally traveled to Montana, 1923 follows a generation of the Duttons during Western expansion.
While neither Sheridan nor Paramount has responded to Salkin's claims, the lawsuit has put the origins of Yellowstone under fresh scrutiny.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
