What’s happening over in the world of “Yellowstone”? Well, apparently, quite a lot. A new report by Puck drops a boatload of new information about the 2nd half of “Yellowstone” season 5 and the mooted “2024” spinoff, which almost certainly won’t be titled that in the end.
Let’s start with “Yellowstone,” the series that is still the most popular show on TV via Paramount Network. Well, first off, we know that “Yellowstone” is ending. Much of that is due to Kevin Costner fighting with creator/showrunner Taylor Sheridan and Paramount about shooting schedules, time, and money because it was interfering with “Horizon,” the actor’s ambitious two-part Western opus/pet project that will hit theaters this summer that he directed last year.
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Maybe it’s just us, but we were under the impression that Costner would at least come back to finish the season or appear for a death scene. Apparently, that’s not the case, and Puck’s reporting says Sheridan “wrote the upcoming post-strike back half of Season 5 without John Dutton.” Great, so we return from the cliffhanger of part one, and he’s dead? Ugh, super lame.
Secondly, the season is finished, but it hasn’t shot yet, and apparently, Costner’s team is still trying to mend this broken fence, but the clock is ticking (and November is evidently still the intended air date).
Puck: “Costner’s reps are still asking that Sheridan bring him back to finish his arc. We’ll see if that happens, but Sheridan is said to be super happy with how he currently wraps up the show—without Costner—and with shooting set for this spring and summer, the clock is ticking on any reconciliation.”
Apparently, this season five helps set up the “Yellowstone” spinoff series that was announced last year. And we know that Matthew McConaughey is supposed to star, but the quasi-trade newsletter site says reports of the actor’s commitment to the project are overstated and “he won’t sign on until he sees a script, which hasn’t happened yet, per his agent.”
Oy, apparently much closer to a deal is Michelle Pfeiffer, who is in negotiations for the female lead of the new series and would star opposite McConaughey if he actually signs on the dotted line.
But there’s still more “Yellowstone” drama. “Yellowstone” stars Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, and Luke Grimes are all expected to appear in the spinoff series, but they’re all apparently being bullish over their paydays, which they want to be increased. Reilly and Hauser, in particular, are asking for money that’s hovering around the $1.2 million- $1.5 million per episode mark, and they want their names in the marquee above McConaughey and Pfeiffer.
They’re paying a pretty penny regardless, says Puck. “Complicating matters, however, the actors are all pay-or-play for the Season 6 of ‘Yellowstone’ that isn’t happening, meaning Paramount must pay the talent for one season even if they don’t do the spinoff.”
Meanwhile, it’s apparently ultimatum time, and Paramount and 101 Studios have set a take-it-or-leave-it deadline of this week for the actors to come to an agreement. If they do, they’re onboard the spinoff. If not, they walk but basically get paid for an extra season they didn’t shoot. But the spinoff could also go on for several years, so it may depend on what the actor’s temperature is: a lot of short-term money or a lot of money in the long term for sticking out with the new series. Also? They’re all negotiating independently, what if one of them agrees, and the other doesn’t? Especially with Beth and Rip, Reilly and Hauser’s popular characters, that makes things extra complicated. Oh, this is giving me a headache.