It seems that unlike Yellowstone‘s John Dutton, showrunner Taylor Sheridan knows exactly how to monetize his ranch.
The highly acclaimed Yellowstone universe has been going through all sorts of scandalous developments over the past year. From the network’s alleged falling out with Kevin Costner, to the delays caused by the recent WGA strike, and now the legal battle between Sheridan and Cole Hauser, fate seems hell-bent on bringing the idyllic promised land of cowboys to crash and burn over Paramount’s head.
Still, despite all the perceivable challenges of producing shows that take place on a ranch and feature thousands of cattle, Taylor Sheridan has done a great job of expanding the Yellowstone universe through spinoffs like 1883 and 1923. He may not be the best Western filmmaker in history, but he definitely knows how to make a story like that work, even in a modern setting.
And the man knows his value, too, because if the reports are anything to go by, he’s capitalizing on this cash cow (pun intended) to make ranches relevant to the entertainment industry again.
How much does Paramount pay to rent the Yellowstone ranch?
While exact details haven’t been made public by the company, we do know that Yellowstone is one of the most expensive television shows out there. You’d expect other genre productions with their heavy reliance on CGI and intricate sets to outpace the Dutton family by a large margin, but according to the reports, Paramount is currently spending $500 million every year to bring Yellowstone and its numerous spinoffs to life.
A part of that budget is taken up by Sheridan’s own requirements, who rents out his ranch to the crew for filming and practice. Based on a report by The Wall Street Journal, the American filmmaker is charging the network $50,000 a week for the space, and as much as $25 a head for the cattle.
That’s not even the worst of it. Sheridan uses the space as camps to train the cast in cowboying, a venture that costs the studio over $200,000 each time. These expenses might be causing a bit of tension between the executive producer and the powers that be, but we wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, what with all the drama currently surrounding Yellowstone.
The last batch of episodes is currently in production, with a November 2024 release date promising to bring John Dutton’s story to a satisfying close.