{"id":29136,"date":"2026-08-05T23:58:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29136"},"modified":"2026-08-05T23:58:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:58:45","slug":"paramount-scored-with-dad-shows-now-its-aiming-for-female-viewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29136","title":{"rendered":"Paramount+ Scored With Dad Shows. Now It\u2019s Aiming for Female Viewers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tFor a few years there, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/paramount-2\/\" id=\"auto-tag_paramount-2_1\" data-tag=\"paramount-2\">Paramount+<\/a> had a lot of eggs in one basket. Following the rebrand of CBS All Access to Paramount+ in 2021, prolific Texas-based creator Taylor Sheridan has been at the forefront of the streamer\u2019s strategy as he churned out show after show: <em>1923<\/em>. <em>Landman<\/em>. <em>Tulsa King<\/em>. <em>Lioness<\/em>. <em>Mayor of Kingstown<\/em> \u2014 even as his mega-success <em>Yellowstone<\/em> was conspicuously absent from the streamer (the result of an exclusive licensing deal with Peacock).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tNow, however, there\u2019s new management at the platform, Sheridan will be out the door in a few years and Paramount+\u2019s identity is being reworked. Nearly a year after Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media, the strategy under the streamer\u2019s head of originals Jane\u202fWiseman is taking shape. Though its new originals likely won\u2019t start debuting on the service until the beginning of 2027, <em>The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>\u2019s conversations with sources and execs\u2019 own public statements show that Paramount+ is aiming to expand the appeal of the service beyond the existing Sheridan heads, even as it has clearly learned a thing or two from the king of operatic neo-Westerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tParamount+ reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/paramount-reports-mixed-earnings-results-1236663819\/\">more than 81\u202fmillion subscribers<\/a> in its latest earnings report, putting it behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/netflix-q4-2025-earnings-results-passes-325-million-subs-1236478604\/\">Netflix<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/disney-earnings-streaming-subscribers-grow-1236425508\/\">Disney+<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/wbd-q4-2025-earnings-big-net-loss-paramount-vs-netflix-1236514816\/\">HBO Max<\/a> (which could become its corporate sibling if David Ellison\u2019s $111 billion Warner Bros. merger goes through) according to their most recent disclosures. To make it more competitive in the sharp-elbowed streaming wars, its executives are aiming to develop destination series that will broaden the streamer\u2019s appeal, especially to more women and genre viewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cThe green lights have to have that core evangelizing audience that\u2019s hopefully slightly different than the core seen before [on Paramount+], but in success they\u2019re supposed to capture multiple audiences,\u201d says an executive familiar. A rep for Paramount Skydance declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWhile the number of women out in the world wearing <em>Yellowstone<\/em> Dutton Ranch T-shirts will tell you that Sheridan shows have their share of female fans (and the studio cites that in a recent count, <em>The Madison<\/em>, <em>Dutton Ranch<\/em> and the first season of <em>Marshals<\/em> had slightly more female than male viewers), a cornerstone of the new strategy is appealing more broadly to women. \u201cThey\u2019re building a female-forward wheel that is attempting to expand the brand\u2019s reach beyond what it\u2019s probably best known for, which is the Taylor Sheridan fare,\u201d says one agent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tDirect-to-consumer chair Cindy Holland, who hired Wiseman, has made no secret of this ambition, telegraphing as much at Paramount\u2019s 2026 upfront presentation. And the focus on female viewers has been on display in series pickups from Wiseman\u2019s team like <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/nicole-kidman-elle-fanning-legal-drama-discretion-1236373077\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/nicole-kidman-elle-fanning-legal-drama-discretion-1236373077\/\">Discretion<\/a><\/em>, a legal thriller produced by A24 and starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning; <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/anne-hathaway-paramount-plus-true-crime-drama-1236475265\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/anne-hathaway-paramount-plus-true-crime-drama-1236475265\/\">Fear Not<\/a><\/em>, a true-crime limited series from MGM Television starring Anne Hathaway; and the sequel to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/clueless-sequel-series-paramount-1236659500\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/clueless-sequel-series-paramount-1236659500\/\">Clueless<\/a><\/em> with Alicia Silverstone. On the unscripted\u00a0 side, Paramount+ recently gave the go-ahead to a dating show from the <em>Love Is Blind<\/em> production company Kinetic Content (working title: <em>Making Love<\/em>) and the youth baseball reality series <em>Team Moms<\/em> from executive producer Kim Kardashian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAround town, the streamer has been calling for female-fronted adult dramas; romance and family stories; soap opera-type fare; and thrillers that are serialized, say sources. They\u2019re interested in work with major creatives and stars (\u201cThey are cost-conscious, although they\u2019re looking for big names to drive marketing,\u201d says a production company exec). The streamer is also dipping its toes in YA stories \u00e0\u202fla <em>Outer Banks<\/em>, <em>The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>, <em>Riverdale<\/em> and its own series <em>School Spirits<\/em> but seemingly doesn\u2019t want to spend a fortune on these projects (more like $3 million to $5 million an episode), says another agent source.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tLike Peacock, the streamer is also testing out microdramas, the often soapy, bite-size vertical video format that typically overindexes on romance. The move follows BET \u2014 the Paramount Skydance-owned brand focused on the Black community whose series and films recently moved over to Paramount+ \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/bet-gets-into-microdrama-business-new-atwist-partnership-1236595002\/\">partnering with aTwist<\/a> to produce these vertical video series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tOn the other end of things, the streamer is putting feelers out for \u201cgrounded genre\u201d ideas \u2014 essentially big-concept genre (sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural) stories with relatable human drama. Wiseman\u2019s hire, executive vp originals Chris Parnell, a former Apple TV creative exec who worked on <em>Pluribus<\/em>, is spearheading this push, where the streamer is said to be looking for projects along the line of, yes, <em>Pluribus<\/em> but also <em>Silo<\/em>, <em>Severance<\/em>, <em>Fallout<\/em> and <em>Stranger Things<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThese shows might appeal to the <em>Star Trek<\/em> crowd that is already on the platform, but they are also seen as a draw for international viewers who may not have traditionally been as compelled by Sheridan\u2019s Westerns as the domestic audience. (Paramount\u2019s recently inked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/stranger-things-creators-matt-ross-duffer-paramount-deal-1236347953\/\">exclusive deal<\/a> with <em>Stranger Things <\/em>creators Matt and Ross Duffer will likely play a role here. The Duffers are set to produce work for Paramount direct-to-consumer, of which Paramount+ is a part, among other commitments.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tOther green lights from Wiseman\u2019s team feel far more in line with the audience that already flocks to Paramount+. The logline for the upcoming Kenneth Branagh-starring drama <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/paramount-scottish-highland-saga-laird-kenneth-branagh-1236653912\/\">Laird<\/a><\/em> (a major landowner squaring off against a billionaire land grab) sounds like <em>Yellowstone<\/em> with a Scottish accent. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/jeremy-strong-9-12-series-paramount-1236395915\/\">9\/12<\/a><\/em>, a prestige drama starring Jeremy Strong about the legal battle that 9\/11 first responders engaged in after the disaster, could appeal to the <em>Marshals<\/em> crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAnd what defines the platform isn\u2019t just the type of stories it wants but also the ones it\u2019s avoiding. Half-hour comedies aren\u2019t on Paramount+\u2019s wish list, sources say, given that CBS sitcoms like <em>The\u202fNeighborhood<\/em> and <em>Georgie &amp; Mandy\u2019s First Marriage<\/em> begin streaming on Paramount+ the day after they air on linear television.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tEven with all of the streamer\u2019s announcements, the volume of Paramount+ dealmaking has surprised some observers. When Holland\u2019s hire was officially announced last year, hopes ballooned across the industry that she would be spearheading a major spending push akin to her time at Netflix during its spendthrift era. Those dreams haven\u2019t panned out, say sources, who note the platform\u2019s selectivity so far. Says the second agent, \u201cThe thing that popped out to us is the streamer is a very small team and they are not looking to replicate the ascension that Netflix had when Cindy was there in terms of volume. They\u2019re taking very specific shots \u2014 and not a lot of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe executive familiar pushes back on this observation, saying, \u201cI can guarantee you the deal volume has been extraordinary.\u201d The studio, meanwhile, cites that it has greenlit 25 new series over the past 10 months, not including renewals and pickups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tParamount+ still has some time before Sheridan officially leaves the streamer that his shows helped to characterize; the creator\u2019s TV deal will officially move to NBCUniversal in 2029. At that point, the streamer will retain the blockbuster series the creator made for it previously, even as any fresh Sheridan series will be written and produced exclusively for NBCUniversal platforms. 101\u202fStudios, the studio that works with Sheridan on his series, has already moved its deal to NBCU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThat situation gives Paramount+ a generous offramp, a period of a few years when it can endeavor to retain the creator\u2019s fans while also offering nonsubscribers compelling reasons to create an account. \u201cThey know that the whole service for the most part is buoyed on the back of Taylor Sheridan shows. It is obvious if that\u2019s the case,\u201d says the second agent. \u201cThe weird thing is he\u2019s leaving, but he\u2019s not leaving tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<em>This story appeared in the Aug. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/subscriptions.hollywoodreporter.com\/site\/thr-subscribe\">Click here to subscribe.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For a few years there, Paramount+ had a lot of eggs in one basket. Following the rebrand of CBS All Access to Paramount+ in 2021, prolific Texas-based creator Taylor Sheridan has been at the forefront of the streamer\u2019s strategy as he churned out show after show: 1923. Landman. Tulsa King. Lioness. Mayor of Kingstown \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lioness.jpg?w=1440&h=810&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}