A television writer and entertainment journalist has sued Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBCUniversal in federal court in California, alleging that the concept behind "Yellowstone" was taken from a pilot script and pitch materials she submitted to Sheridan's production company nearly a decade ago.
Lauren J. Salkin filed the lawsuit on Friday, according to reports from TMZ and other outlets. Salkin says that in 2016 and 2017 she submitted a pilot script and additional development materials for a project titled "Sovereign Nation" to Sheridan's company. Her complaint states she has evidence the materials were received and reviewed, pointing to a response she says came from Elevate Entertainment reading: "Taylor thanks you very much for your interest. Unfortunately, he's unavailable for TV projects."
Salkin's suit argues that within months of that exchange, Paramount greenlit "Yellowstone," Sheridan's ranching drama starring Kevin Costner, which premiered in June 2018 and went on to become one of the network's most-watched original series. According to her complaint, the overlap between her submitted concept and the finished show — including land-dispute plotlines, development conflicts and overall tone — is, in her telling, too extensive to be coincidental.
Allegations, not findings
It is important to note that nothing in Salkin's complaint has been tested in court. Sheridan, Paramount and NBCUniversal had not publicly responded to the suit as of publication, and no party has been found liable for anything. The relief Salkin is seeking reportedly includes unspecified damages, an injunction against further use of the disputed material, and a share of profits generated by "Yellowstone."
Entertainment lawyers who follow the industry note that "idea theft" claims of this kind — where a writer alleges a studio developed a hit show from an unsolicited or informally reviewed pitch — are notoriously difficult to win. Courts generally require a plaintiff to show access to the original work and substantial similarity between specific protectable elements, not just a shared premise or genre; broad concepts like family ranching drama or land disputes are not, on their own, copyrightable.
The case adds to a run of legal entanglements around the "Yellowstone" franchise, which has separately seen contract disputes involving cast departures and spinoff negotiations since the flagship series concluded. None of those prior disputes involved allegations of concept theft. Paramount has built a sprawling franchise around Sheridan's original series, including prequels and spinoffs, making the commercial stakes of any finding against the studio considerably higher than in a typical single-project dispute.
A scheduling conference or initial response from the defendants would typically follow in the coming weeks. UBS will continue to follow the case as it moves through federal court.