‘Yellowstone’: Kevin Costner Leaving After Season 5
According to multiple reports today, lead actor Kevin Costner will not be returning to ‘Yellowstone‘ when Season 5 concludes its run… assuming the show itself comes back, which is also somewhat in doubt.
For those of you who have not been following the behind-the-scenes drama on the show, it’s been almost as interesting as the stuff in front of the camera. Back in February, there were reports that Costner has been upset over the shooting schedule for the series, putting him at odds with the franchise’s creator and showrunner, Taylor Sheridan. Costner has allegedly said he only wants to shoot for one week on the second half of season five, which consists of six episodes (compared to the 50 days scheduled on the 8 episodes of Season 5, part 1). Given he is supposed to be the main star of the series, you can see why Sheridan was annoyed by that. It has been described as a “source of frustration” for Sheridan and was allegedly “causing morale problems with [Costner’s] co-stars.” Should be pointed out that Cosner’s attorneys at the time called the reports “an absolute lie”, saying the actor is “incredibly passionate about the show”…
As things stand right now, filming has yet to begin on those last six episodes of Season 5, and there is no timetable as to when they will go into production. They were originally slated to air this Summer, but that seems unlikely to happen now, given it’s already May, and nothing has been shot. You also have the issue of the writers strike in the USA, although Sheridan does write the series himself, and one would assume already has those episodes written and ready to go. It would just mean they can’t alter any of the scripts, and given they may now have to write out Costner’s character, that might be a big problem.
Costner himself is not having a great week, as on top of the turmoil ‘Yellowstone’, it was also announced on Monday that his wife, Christine Baumgartner, had filed for divorce after 18 years of marriage. Costner was reported to be “blindsided” by the filing and had no indication it was coming.
So where does that leave things with ‘Yellowstone’? Well, hopefully, those last six episodes will be shot at some point… we just don’t know when. However, the franchise as a whole still has a lot of life in it yet. There are numerous spin-offs in development, along with a second season of the spin-off ‘1923’, and the ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ series starring David Oyelowo and Dennis Quaid. As for the main show itself, that may end with Season 5, but they have Matthew McConaughey lined up for a leading role in a new ‘Yellowstone’ series which may become the defacto “main show”.
‘Yellowstone‘, and its spin-offs air on Paramount+ in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
