The decision is made amid an alleged dispute between leading actor Kevin Costner, who plays John Dutton on Paramount Network's blockbuster show, and series creator Taylor Sheridan.
- Apr 18, 2023
AceShowbiz - "Yellowstone" reportedly will conclude its story soon. If a new report is to be believed, Paramount Network's blockbuster series will end after the upcoming second half of its season 5.
Multiple sources told New York Post that the decision was made amid an alleged dispute between its leading actor Kevin Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan. "It's the same as with any show runner and big star - there's respect, but there's friction," a well-placed production source told the news outlet.
Meanwhile, a highly-placed Hollywood source who previously worked with Taylor added that Taylor's ego might also be the reason for the dispute. "Taylor is the star of his show. He's the most important person on all of his shows," the source spilled.
The new report arrived after Kevin and some other cast members alongside Taylor ditched PaleyFest at the last minute back on April 1. They were set to attend the special screening and Q&A at the highly publicized event and joined executive producer David Glassier and "additional guests." As none of them showed up, the final lineup eventually consisted of Josh Luca, Mo Brings Plenty, Dawn Olivieri and Wendy Moniz.
During the panel, Keith Cox, the president of development & production for Paramount Network, expressed hope regarding Kevin's continuation on the show. However, he couldn't give a specific update on when production on season 5 might resume. "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," he said at the time.
When asked if "Yellowstone" can continue without Kevin's character John Dutton, Josh said that he thinks Taylor has "always planned on at some point, having Kevin die and having multiple characters die." He continued, "And so you know that that's just the way the story… the evolution of what the ranch is. That's why when you see the cemetery and you see the names of Elsa and you see the names of Jacob and you see these names, I think it's of course going to evolve and change. And I think that's what hopefully people will really like as it goes. I don't know, Taylor can tell a story about the future for all we know."
It was previously said that the behind-the-scenes dispute between Kevin and Taylor involved disagreements over schedules. The Oscar-winning actor allegedly agreed to allot himself 65 days to film the first part of the show's current fifth season. However, he later changed his mind and wanted to film for 50 days only in addition to wanting to limit it to just one week of shooting on the remaining eight episodes of season 5.
His request reportedly caused a rift with not only Taylor, but also his other co-stars. Kevin's filming schedule was allegedly the "source of frustration" for Taylor and caused "morale problems with his co-stars.
