Luke Grimes, the actor from the “Yellowstone” series, has passed away at the age of 41 md20

Many would agree that the name Taylor Sheridan is currently one of the most valuable in Hollywood, especially in TV. Built on the tremendous success of the Yellowstone universe, the prolific creator is now a multi-billion-dollar guarantee after having secured a landmark $1 billion deal with NBCUniversal. With Yellowstone, which ran from 2018 to 2024, Sheridan proved his dominance on cable and streaming, garnering massive viewing numbers, even outperforming the viewership of the Big 4 networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. While the Western favorite has undoubtedly made him a TV juggernaut, it’s the performance of his more modest projects that reveals his true market dominance.

Speaking of modest, the acclaimed producer’s spy thriller Special Ops: Lioness fits the bill. Lioness stars Zoe Saldaña and follows an elite group of CIA operatives involved in the eponymous program that specially trains women agents. It premiered on July 23, 2023, and was renewed for a third season back in August, with production getting underway in October. As of early 2025, the 73% RT series is Sheridan’s least-streamed, yet its low performance still far exceeds the highs of most other creators, ranking among the top Paramount+ originals and drawing an audience that most streamers can only dream of.

‘Yellowstone’ Set a Nearly Impossible Bar for TV Success

Image via Paramount Network

Looking at the ratings, the benchmark is clear: Yellowstone remains at the top of modern TV, having recently shattered records with Season 5 Part 2, which aired from November 10, 2024, to December 15, 2024. The second half of the season was a massive hit for Paramount Network until the very end, amassing 11.4 million viewers in its final episode. This made the series finale, “Life Is a Promise,” the most-watched episode in Yellowstone‘s history, thereby further cementing Sheridan’s status as a giant in the TV business, without contest.

That’s not all! Season 5 Part 2 of Yellowstone outperformed the first half by 4% as confirmed by VideoAmp, including all the season’s cable premiere telecasts as well as its CBS broadcast premiere. Meanwhile, on social media, the Sheridan-produced drama saw a boost compared to the first half of Season 5, with views up 103% and engagement up 68%. All in all, the second half of the season saw 575 million social media views and 22 million instances of engagement.

In terms of international viewership, Paramount+’s biggest international launch ever belongs to Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2. The premiere scored 21 million viewers in the US in live plus three-day viewing, while the premiere night alone, simulcast across CBS and eight cable channels, attracted 16.4 million total viewers, representing a 3% viewership increase over the Season 5 Part 1 debut.

Taylor Sheridan’s Lowest is the Most Successful TV Underperformer

This brings us to Special Ops: Lioness. Lioness is technically the least-rated of Sheridan’s current portfolio in terms of viewership; however, by streaming standards, it performed excellently. In a move that illustrates just how high Sheridan’s lowest actually is, Season 2 of the action drama, which debuted on October 27, 2024, had one of the biggest premieres for Paramount+ since the platform’s launch. In its first seven days, it was seen by 3 million domestic households and had 12.4 million views globally across all platforms. That marked a 2% increase in reach compared to Season 1, which drew 2.9 million viewers for its premiere in its first seven days.

Over a week after Lioness returned for its sophomore run, it ranked No. 4 among Paramount+ originals, behind the biggest domestic household premieres: 1923, Tulsa King Season 2, and Halo Season 1. Then, a week after the season wrapped on December 8, 2024, reports confirmed that it ranked in the top three Paramount+ originals for 2024, behind Landman Season 1 and Tulsa King Season 2, both of which were also created by Sheridan. At the time, Lioness Season 2 had reached a total of 8.3 million domestic households, a 10% increase compared to Season 1’s 7.6 million.

Ultimately, Sheridan’s 2025 success is less about the heights of his prominent titles and more about the success of his less popular ones. While Yellowstone continues to dominate, Lioness proves that there is no such thing as a small show in the Sheridan-verse—only different levels of dominance. In addition to Saldaña, the high-stakes Paramount+ original stars Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez, Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman, and Nicole Kidman.

Lioness is streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates from the Taylor Sheridan universe.