Three years ago, an adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s novel Three Women ignited a bidding war before landing at Showtime with what sources say at the time was one of the biggest deals the premium cable network had ever made. Today, the drama starring Shailene Woodley that was eyed for a 2022 debut jumped to rival network Starz as Showtime — now part of Chris McCarthy’s sprawling purview at Paramount Global — pivots toward the Yellowstone franchise model that has driven viewers to Paramount+.
In a Jan. 30 memo to staff outlining a rebranding of the pay cable network to “Paramount+ With Showtime,” McCarthy (who oversees Paramount Network, MTV and Comedy Central, among others) pointed to “turning our hit shows into global hit franchises” and integrating the brand’s content into the premium tier of Paramount+ With Showtime. After dropping underperforming titles like Let the Right One In, American Gigolo, Kidding and On Becoming a God in Central Florida from the Paramount+ With Showtime platform, McCarthy announced straight-to-series orders for two Dexter spinoffs and four offshoots of its long-running finance drama Billions.
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Other franchises built around existing Showtime originals — like The Chi — are also said to be in the works as McCarthy takes a page from the Yellowstone playbook that has made the Taylor Sheridan Western into a multiple-show hit for Paramount+. “I find the entire strategy reductive and not the point of what our entire industry is,” says one top literary agent. “You’re missing what historically has led to great successes in zeitgeist shows that are not based on IP: The Bear, Yellowjackets, Severance. This may be a short-term strategy but it’s not a long-term way to maintain a brand.”
Showtime is only the latest to chase franchise plans: AMC has a handful of Walking Dead shows, Amazon is planning Tomb Raider and The Terminal List universes, and Dick Wolf is behind three broadcast franchises that each consist of a trio of shows. The industry-wide push for known properties, some argue, is considered a safeguard at a time when the U.S. economy is headed toward recession and as companies big and small look to right-size their balance sheets and programming expenditures. “People want to do things they know will work,” notes a senior agent. “No one wants to take risks.”
Showrunners, meanwhile, expressed hope that the franchise strategy would help build a stronger groundwork for more original ideas. “The smart bet is to assume they’re laying a new foundation so that they can make more originals like Yellowjackets,” notes a showrunner with franchise experience.
This isn’t to say that all of Showtime’s scripted efforts will be based on its library content. McCarthy is said to be circling a reboot of a well-known sci-fi film that he hopes will also have franchise potential. At the same time, co-presidents of entertainment Gary Levine and Jana Winograde are awaiting word on their fates as staffers await further clarity on the net’s future.
“Spirits are low at Showtime for everyone working there who championed projects they loved; nobody wants to do just spinoffs,” says the agent.
Meanwhile, as timing for the “Paramount+ With Showtime” rebranding of the linear network and premium tier of the streamer has not yet been revealed, industry observers are quick to speculate that the Showtime moniker could eventually be eliminated altogether as the focus continues to be the scaling up of Paramount+: “Poll most of America, they know what ‘Paramount’ is; that’s why it’s trumping Showtime.”
This story first appeared in the Feb. 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
