The drama surrounding season five of Yellowstone continues

As the standoff between Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner continues, season five of Yellowstone hangs in the balance

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  April 4, 2023 | 7:34pm
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The drama surrounding season five of Yellowstone continues
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The behind-the-scenes drama surrounding Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone is shaping into a compelling standoff—perhaps even more than one plucked from the show’s storylines. With the second part of season five still not in production, and no word on Kevin Costner’s involvement in the Paramount series, things are not looking too good in the Sheridanverse.

Over the weekend, Paramount exec Keith Cox claimed to have nothing but good news when it came to the show’s production schedule and Costner’s commitment to the show, giving the impression that everything is just hunky-dory. “What I can say is our star, the face of our show and the executive producer, are very confident he’s going to continue with our show,” Cox said during a panel on Saturday, per People.

The Q&A—hosted at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood—originally promised appearances from Sheridan, executive producer David Glasser, Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, and Jacki Weaver. However, only Cox, Josh Lucas, Dawn Olivieri, Wendy Moniz, and Mo Brings Plenty ultimately participated. The event organizers blamed the lineup change on a classic: “Scheduling conflicts.”

In addition to the disappointment from fans who expected to see some of their favorite stars, the snafu does not bode well for the state of the most popular show in America. The panel follows months of reports on the beef between Sheridan and Costner, with the latter apparently still looking to leave the show to pursue his own Western.

Even if Costner’s departure calls for the end of Yellowstone, Sheridan’s built a big enough universe around the original series to continue telling his Western-rooted stories just fine. As Costner threatens to leave, there are plenty of other actors looking to take on a lead role for a Sheridan project; Matthew McConaughey was most recently rumored. Other ongoing spin-offs from the creator include 1923, 1883, and the menacing 6666.

However, Paramount has placed a lot of its eggs in Sheridan’s basket, and the implosion of the uber-popular series would be a major hit to their original programming. Even as season five filming remains at a standstill due to the rumored conflicts between Sheridan and Costner, Cox said production will resume “soon.”

The second part of season five was originally expected to air over the summer, but now there’s no telling when viewers will see the Dutton clan again.

 
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