A report released Monday claims that “Yellowstone” will be cancelled after season five.
Multiple sources told the New York Post that the hit cowboy drama from superstar writer Taylor Sheridan, “Yellowstone,” will conclude after the second half of season five airs at some unknown time in the future, if it does at all.
It’s unclear when the second half of season five will resume filming. Tensions on the set have been rising for a little under a year, with the first reports surrounding “Yellowstone’s” leading man, Kevin Costner, who plays John Dutton.
Costner’s wife reportedly demanded he quit the show over its shooting schedule in October 2022. Apparently, there was never a thought that “Yellowstone” would be successful, but Costner now earns roughly $1 million per episode. Sheridan is now arguably the biggest name in Hollywood production, having signed a massive deal with Paramount to bring a slew of A-list movie stars back to television.
REPORT: The Next ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel Announced By Paramount Executive | @DailyCaller https://t.co/jjQbkM1ZCd
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) February 9, 2023
“It’s the same as with any showrunner and big star — there’s respect, but there’s friction,” a production source told NYP. While most rumors have circulated on Costner and his alleged stubbornness over the show, the source countered, claiming that Sheridan is really the issue.
“Taylor is the star of his show. He’s the most important person on all of his shows,” the source said. It’s unclear whether the sources realizes that the only reason “Yellowstone” exists is because of Sheridan. Without Sheridan, the cast, crew and probably the production teams of all his other shows wouldn’t have work. So, yeah, he is the most important person in this context.
But the source apparently has hope.
“We’re hoping it will be worked out. It’s too big a show for things not to be worked out,” the source told the outlet. “Hopefully Kevin will return for the remaining episodes if everyone works together, but it looks like ‘Yellowstone’ will end after this season.”
Another source somewhat dismissed the confidence behind the original source’s statements. “Only Taylor truly knows what is going on,” that source stated. (RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Details What He Hopes To Bring To ‘Yellowstone’ World)
“Taylor spent years not being truly appreciated in Hollywood,” the source continued, “and now that he’s the top of the heap, there’s definitely some ego to all of this.”
But, again, if I was the #1 writer in the world and had a development deal that included bringing the likes of Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman to television, I’d have an ego too!
“Kevin’s been extremely cooperative with working with Taylor and his production company, 101 Studios. They were supposed to shoot the second chapter of Season 5 late last year, but they just didn’t have the scripts,” a Hollywood source told the NY Post. “Taylor is overburdened and Kevin made himself available at the beginning of the year, but again, nothing was ready. Kevin had already committed to making his other movies. He had given the producers his schedule.”
Paramount apparently wants “Yellowstone” off the air within the year, the Hollywood source claimed. The network doesn’t have an exclusive deal with the show, unlike all of Sheridan’s other shows, so they want him focusing on just the shows that support their studio, one can assume from the source’s comments.