It’s the beginning of the end (for the original series at least) as Paramount+ announces ‘Yellowstone‘ Season 5, part 2 will premiere in November on the streaming service.
‘Yellowstone‘ chronicles the Dutton family who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect – the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park. The series stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, and Kelsey Asbille.
One notable name missing from the line-up is lead actor Kevin Costner, who won’t appear in the final six episodes… Much has been talked about what happened, but without going into all the details again, back in February, it was reported that Costner had been upset over the shooting Season 5 shooting schedule, putting him at odds with the franchise’s creator and showrunner, Taylor Sheridan. That led to Paramount’s decision to close this chapter of ‘Yellowstone’.
Costner has since spoken about his disappointment over how none of his former co-stars came to his defence over the narrative which portrayed him as being difficult over the filming schedule, stating that was not really the truth… He alleges that they knew he was committed to filming his movie Horizon: An American Saga, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and the filming schedule was originally, and contractually, organised so he could shoot both projects. However, they kept moving the ‘Yellowstone’ schedule around, forcing him to drop out.
“I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven,” Costner told industry site Deadline. “In February, after a two or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do 6. They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.”
Of course, the ‘Yellowstone’ franchise as a whole is still very much alive and kicking. The prequel series ‘1923‘ starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, is due a 2nd Season, although production was delayed due to the writer/actor strikes. There are also two more series in the works – another prequel currently titled ‘1944’, and a sequel series with the working title ‘2024’, which would include some of the cast from the original ‘Yellowstone’, and Matthew McConaughey is rumoured to be in talks for the lead role.
‘Yellowstone’ is co-created by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario) and John Linson. Executive producers include John Linson, Art Linson, Taylor Sheridan, Kevin Costner, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, Stephen Kay, Michael Friedman, Christina Voros and Keith Cox. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
‘Yellowstone‘ Season 5b premieres Monday, 11th November 2024 on Paramount+ UK, and Sunday, November 10th at 8PM ET/PT on Paramount Network in the USA.
