Yellowstone is a modern-day western about John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), the patriarch of a powerful Montana ranching family. Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, the show became an enormous success and has spawned a whole network of spin-offs. But the end of the show was mired in controversy. The fifth and final season aired in two parts, and John Dutton was killed off in the first episode of the second half. Rumors swirled about what led to Costner’s early exit. Scheduling conflicts seemed to be at the heart of it. Costner reportedly was not aware that the fifth season was going to be broken into halves. Once that fact came to light, he realized it conflicted with his work on Horizon: An American Saga, a four-film cycle of western dramas he was planning to direct. There may also have been conflicts between Costner and Sheridan on set regarding creative control. At one point, it came out that Costner was willing to go to court to settle some of these disputes. In the end, Yellowstone wrapped up in Dec. 2024, with Costner having sat out the final five episodes. This past Sunday, Jun. 28, Taylor Sheridan talked about Costner’s exit on The Bill Simmons Podcast, saying that the original plan for the show was to only keep Costner around for “the first three seasons.” After that, John’s “youngest son takes over, and then we watch him lose that ranch or not lose it.” According to Sheridan, Paramount was “so scared of not having Kevin be a part of” Yellowstone, although the Oscar winner “was ready to go” and had “other things he wanted to do.” Obviously, Costner did remain on Yellowstone a while longer, although the way Sheridan explains it, it sounds like killing John Dutton off was always the plan; it just happened later than originally intended.
“The notion of giving up a hit before it had run out of juice to squeeze is very foreign to a network. Finally, Kevin hit a point where he said, ‘I gotta do my own thing.’ But we originally conceived it together that it was three seasons and then the baton is handed — because we had to tread water for a bit there, and I think it was pretty evident.”

Paramount

Perhaps if Kevin Costner had left after Season 3 as originally planned, he and Taylor Sheridan could have avoided the conflicts that had people talking towards the end of Yellowstone’s run. But however the original show wrapped up, the Yellowstone universe is in a good place. It’s already aired two successful prequel spin-offs: 1883 and 1923. Two more shows, Marshals and Dutton Ranch, have new seasons on the way. And that’s not to mention some of Sheridan’s other hit series, including Mayor of Kingstown, Landman, and Tulsa King.

As for Costner, he went on to direct the first chapter of Horizon: An American Saga, but it tanked at the box office when it opened in theaters in 2024. There is no release date currently set for Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, but perhaps the first movie’s solid performance on streaming can help get things moving.

Release Date

2018 – 2024

Network

Paramount Network

Directors

Stephen Kay, Taylor Sheridan, Christina Alexandra Voros, Guy Ferland, John Dahl

Writers

John Coveny, Ian McCulloch