How Much Taylor Sheridan's 1923 Costs Per Episode

Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" was almost canceled after two seasons, with the show's producers even putting up some of their own money to keep the series on the air. Fast forward a few years, and "Yellowstone" is so successful now that it's damaging the real world, with the neo-Western having spawned a hit franchise that includes "1883" and "1923." What's more, there are several additional "Yellowstone" spin-offs on the way, so viewers can expect the Dutton family's decades-spanning saga to continue for years to come.

It's weird to think that Paramount once considered "Yellowstone" to be too costly, as these days, the studio is more than happy to spend the big bucks on the property. That much is evident when you consider how much dough it poured into "1923," with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the prequel series cost an estimated $22 million per episode. (Season 1, as a whole, is said to have come in at $200 million.) For comparison's sake, the final season of "Game of Thrones" cost $15 million per episode, which is still expensive by current prestige television standards.

That's a lot of money, but it's just a fraction of the budget Paramount uses to produce the "Yellowstone" franchise as a whole. With that in mind, let's find out how much the studio is spending on Sheridan's prize horse.

Taylor Sheridan is a real-life cowboy who owns ranches, so he has the luxury of being able to use his own properties and resources to bring his vision to life. However, he also charges Paramount for the right to use his assets to make his Western shows, which has been rather profitable for the creator.

As the aforementioned Wall Street Journal article notes, Sheridan charged Paramount $214,979.61 to host a week-long "cowboy camp" ahead of "Yellowstone" season 5. The article doesn't explain what that entailed exactly ... though we can assume that it was used to get the cast and crew acquainted with the ranching lifestyle that features heavily in the show's narrative. Other charges included $33,000 for feeding the cast and crew, $20,000 to hire individual horses, and $25,000 for each cow. If true, that's a moo-arvelous piece of business for Sheridan. (I'll be here all week!)

As of May 2023, Paramount was spending around $500 million a year on the "Yellowstone" franchise, proving that it no longer wants to cancel the saga. With several more spin-offs on the way, it's unlikely that those costs will significantly decrease any time soon. That said, there are rumors floating around that Paramount, under the new leadership of David Ellison, wants to cut costs for these projects (along with other shows for its streaming service), but it remains to be seen if there is any truth to these reports. Sheridan reportedly isn't happy about the decision either, as he doesn't think his property should suffer because shows have failed to achieve similar success. However, Paramount will probably do everything in its power to keep him happy, given that his creations do big numbers for its networks.