• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Today

As expected, tech scion David Ellison is taking a hands-on approach to managing and shaping the new company formed from the merger of Skydance Media and Paramount. 

But Ellison, chairman and CEO of the new Paramount Skydance Corp., is not winning them all. 

Most notably, he lost producer Taylor Sheridan to a rival company, NBCUniversal.

Sheridan’s shows form the backbone of Paramount+ -- “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” “1923,” “Tulsa King,” “Lioness” and “Landman.” Coming next year, “Y: Marshals,” a spinoff sequel of “Yellowstone.”

Sheridan has so much clout now in the world of producing successful drama series for streaming that he draws A-list stars to his small-screen productions.

The list includes Sylvester Stallone and Samuel L. Jackson in “Tulsa King,” Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in “1923,” Jeremy Renner in “Mayor of Kingstown,” and Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore in “Landman” -- not to mention Kevin Costner in Sheridan’s first hit, “Yellowstone.”   

The break with Paramount was reportedly due, at least in part, to unwelcome input on present and future productions from Ellison and others.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Ellison and colleagues traveled all the way to one of Sheridan’s two Texas ranches more than once to discuss future projects. 

The story suggests that their approach to the producer, who might be the hottest in television right now, was too heavy-handed.

“[Sheridan] was put off by their suggestions for new television shows, a decision to pass on a project and questions about his spending,” the WSJ said, citing unnamed sources.

The story came after the news broke earlier that Sheridan made a wide-ranging production deal with Paramount rival NBCUniversal to take his skills and creativity to that company starting in 2029, which is when his contract with Paramount reportedly expires.

Meanwhile, Ellison’s headline-making hire at CBS News, Bari Weiss, is making her presence known on West 57th Street, no doubt with behind-the-scenes guidance and encouragement from Ellison, as one top anchorman resigns and other personalities get dropped from high-profile news shows.

The anchorman, John Dickerson, resigned earlier this week after 16 years at CBS News. In a social media post on Monday, he thanked the company and his CBS colleagues.

Dickerson, 57, gave no sign that the turmoil in the news division stemming from Ellison’s public statements indicating he seeks a stem-to-stern overhaul of CBS News, had anything to do with his decision to move on.

The anchorman has been co-anchoring “CBS Evening News” with Maurice DuBois since last January. Since then, ratings have been tepid. 

While that may have contributed to Dickerson’s decision to leave, he might also have begun to feel increasingly uncomfortable working in a Weiss-run news division, especially because he openly criticized his new parent company on “Evening News” earlier this year for caving in to Trump.

On Thursday, stories circulated about layoffs, personnel shifts and restructurings breaking out all over Paramount Skydance.

At the news division, an estimated 100 people were laid off, streaming editions of “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News” were canceled, and the two hosts of “CBS Saturday Morning” -- Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson -- were taken off the show, according to Deadline.com

This is a new round of CBS News tumult in the wake of Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount, but one could also make the case that the turmoil has been going on all year.

It dates back to at least last spring when Paramount Global and Skydance were struggling to close the deal with Skydance pending approval by the Trump administration.

The situation depended on Paramount making a settlement with Trump over a lawsuit the then-President-elect filed last year against CBS News and “60 Minutes” over a meaningless edit in a Kamala Harris interview promo.

Rather than be parties to a craven settlement, “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens resigned in April and CBS New President Wendy McMahon resigned in May. The merger closed in August.