“Yellowstone” fans will have another way to watch the hit western series as the show is set to make its broadcast debut next month.
According to Deadline, CBS will begin airing season one of “Yellowstone,” which stars Kevin Costner, on Sunday, Sept. 17.
At the end of July, “Yellowstone” star Luke Grimes, revealed that the cast has not started filming the second half of the fifth and final season due to the ongoing writers and actors strikes.
Filming on hold
“We have not started filming the second half of season 5 because of the writers strike,” Grimes, who portrays Casey Dutton, told People magazine.
He added, “I think we would be if it weren’t for that, but that takes precedence over everything. They got to get that all sorted, and then we’ll be getting after it.”
Although it was previously announced that the second half of the fifth season would be released in November, that seems unlikely due to the current state of the entertainment industry.
In June, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan told the Hollywood Reporter that he paused writing the second half of the fifth season in solidarity with the writers and actors strikes.
‘Beautiful and epic’
“Yellowstone” star Kelly Reilly – who has portrayed Beth Dutton on all five seasons – recently shared her predictions on how season five of the beloved show will end. According to Insider, the interview was done prior to the news that season five would be the final season and before the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“The main theme of protecting and sustaining this way of life in this land is the bottom of everything,” the actress said during an interview on the Blu-ray and DVD release of “Yellowstone” season five, part one.
Reilly continued, “So I don’t know which way it’s going to go, but we’re in season five, and who knows what’s in store.”
On the season five finale, she said, “It will probably be beautiful and epic, I’m not sure it will be happy.”
At the time of the interview, Reilly noted that her predictions on the season finale are just that, and she doesn’t “have any insight into what’s going to happen.”
Per Reilly, Sheridan doesn’t share details of the storyline to the cast members, which she says makes working on the show “fascinating.”
“We’re all sort of beholden to the vision of the storyteller, and we serve the story,” Reilly said. “Who knows what’s going to happen? I find that exciting as an actor.”
‘Life happens’
Wes Bentley, who plays the role of Jamie Dutton, told the Hollywood Reporter in June that amid all the schedule changes and rumors of conflict between Costner and Sheridan, he is excited for the whole thing to finally end.
“I will miss it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview, “but I will also celebrate it being over.”
A big issue, he explained, is how much time has passed since the show last filmed – the first episode of season 5 was filmed a year ago.
“Jamie stays with me,” Bentley said of his character. “I don’t always want him there!… It’s been tricky though, because of the length of time. Because of the dynamics. I don’t know what they are. I’m sort of on my own here. I don’t really know what’s going on. Life happens and it drifts a bit.”
Like his fellow cast members, he said he has no idea when filming will actually start or what will happen in the new episodes.
“I truly don’t have a clue where it’s going,” he explained. “I haven’t seen or heard anything.”
He added later, “I don’t have a date of when we’re returning.”
When asked about the abrupt decision to end the show and whether he anticipated it, he answered, “As a whole, you just never know. I have enough experience in this business to know that, even when things are going well… I’ve always been prepared for some version of the show ending or I’m out of it, or Kevin decides to go do other things and he’s out. You just know the business and always expect the craziest thing to happen. And often, it does.”
John Dutton rumored drama
There has been a lot of rumored drama ahead of the second half of the fifth season. The show’s lead, Costner, decided to step away from his role as John Dutton which led to Paramount ending the show after season five.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan said that Costner was focused on writing, producing and starring in his own Western four-movie saga titled “Horizon.” Costner has been working on this film series for 35 years, and it was reportedly difficult to balance “Yellowstone” once “Horizon” was green-lit.
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan told the outlet in June. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”
Sheridan continued, “I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
He hinted to the outlet that he never planned on Costner’s character making it to the end of the show, so his original script remained unchanged. Sheridan said that even though he has halted finalizing the fifth season due to the writers and actors strike, he will extend the amount of episodes to conclude the series if he needs to.
“If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” Sheridan said. “It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”
Alright, Alright, Alright
As “Yellowstone” prepares for its finale, Matthew McConaughey has been cast in a spin-off.
Paramount Media Networks President and CEO Chris McCarthy confirmed in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter the 53-year-old actor is lined up to star in an extension series set within the “Yellowstone” universe.
“Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built,” a Paramount Network spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital in February.
The network added, “Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”
Speaking on McConaughey being cast in a spin-off, Sheridan told the Hollywood Reporter, “He seems like a natural fit.”
“We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas,” he continued. “Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And by ‘that’ he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, ‘Buddy, that we can do.’ ”