Crystal Wise
It started with a steak and a handshake — and ended with a Hollywood production team setting up shop in the Alliance area of Fort Worth.
Taylor Sheridan doesn’t do anything halfway. So when the “Yellowstone” creator sat down for lunch with Ross Perot Jr. inside a high-dollar barn at Circle T Ranch, he wasn’t just admiring the view. He was sizing it up. Between bites, he looked around and asked the question that would flip the script on Texas filmmaking: “Can I film here?”
The answer was yes. And that lunch? It turned into nearly half a million square feet of production space — eight sound stages, two massive buildings, and a new power base for Sheridan’s ever-expanding TV empire.
The official lease came shortly after. Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions secured roughly 450,000 square feet from Perot’s Hillwood development company inside the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas master-planned community. The buildings located on Spirit Drive — originally built on spec — are now being repurposed as purpose-built production hubs, according to a CoStar News article. At least one of them already houses a replica kitchen set for “Landman,” Sheridan’s oil-boom drama starring Billy Bob Thornton as grizzled fixer Tommy Norris.
It’s a full-circle moment for Perot Jr., whose family’s roots in North Texas run as deep as Sheridan’s storytelling. Perot Field, the airport where “Landman” filmed earlier scenes, is named for his father, Ross Perot Sr., the billionaire businessman who once ran for president and built a legacy as outsized as the state he loved. For Perot Jr., bringing film to Fort Worth isn’t just business. It’s a long-held dream finally getting its close-up.
“We’ve talked about Hollywood for a while,” Perot told CoStar News. “We have wanted to promote Fort Worth as a film destination, but it was Taylor Sheridan who kicked it off.”
Sheridan didn’t just kick it off — he helped reshape the rules. In late 2024, he testified before the Texas Legislature in support of strengthening the state’s film incentive program. “None of those shows could have been produced in Texas without the state's financial backing,” he said. His efforts, alongside high-profile support from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, helped push through a game-changing $1.5 billion incentive package that goes into effect this fall. The legislation offers long-term rebates and incentives for filmmakers who establish permanent roots in Texas, exactly as Sheridan is doing.
Fort Worth, for its part, is all in. Both buildings leased by Bosque Ranch Productions have been nominated for designation as qualified media production locations by the Texas Film Commission. If approved, they’d be among the first in the state to benefit from the new incentives. And the city itself would become a serious contender in the increasingly competitive race to lure productions away from California, Georgia, and New Mexico.
Already, Sheridan has made Fort Worth a character in his storytelling. “1883,” “Special Ops: Lioness,” and “Landman” have all been filmed in and around the area. His private ranches double as sets and occasionally moonlight as venues for ultra-exclusive country concerts. And now, with a permanent base of operations secured, the Texas native is making it clear: Fort Worth isn’t just a backdrop — it’s the future.
