Yellowstone was abruptly cancelled three seasons too soon because of Kevin Costner's exit
The popular Paramount+ Western series Yellowstone ended after five seasons in December 2024, and fans were left wondering if concluding the Dutton family saga at this point had always been part of the plan. Turns out, that wasn't the case. According to a new report from Bloomberg, co-creator Taylor Sheridan had initially planned to roll out three more seasons starring Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, and Wes Bentley. However, the plan fizzled out after the sudden and shocking departure of Costner.
Kevin Costner's exit ended Yellowstone future
Season 5 of Yellowstone showed the family reeling from the aftermath of John Dutton's murder, and in a shocking twist by the end of the season, we see Sarah, Jamie Dutton's girlfriend, who played a big role in John Dutton's cold-blooded murder, meet her brutal end. Though the show concluded with a cliffhanger, leaving the question of who hired shooters to kill Sarah unresolved, the hopes for the show's renewal were dashed by the makers. As Bloomberg puts it, 'Yellowstone ended about three seasons before Sheridan had hoped because of a conflict with Costner.'
But if you've been following the drama for a while, this news probably won't surprise you, as Costner has been vocal about not seeing eye to eye with Sheridan. The duo reportedly had bad blood for months, which ended on a sour note, mostly because of scheduling and contractual conflicts. In one interview with Deadline, Costner even mentioned how, at the time, he was working on Horizon, his own Western project. Because the Yellowstone character was the one he loved the most and always prioritised, when the shooting schedule demanded his presence, he revealed that he left the filming and arrived on the Yellowstone set only to find 'there was no script' at all. He ended up walking away. The show had to continue without its main character, John Dutton. However, according to Costner, the narrative spread in the media was completely spun.
'What you read in the end was that I said, 'Well, look, I'm doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week,' ' Costner told Deadline. 'I really didn't have that week to give them, but I said, I'll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.' The end of John wasn't some grand farewell either. He was written off quietly, without much fuss, which left a lot of fans upset. Back in May 2023, Costner even told Deadline he was prepared to sue the studio. 'I made a contract for seasons five, six, and seven. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons 6 and 7, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we'll do six.'
But instead of getting season 6, the show hit a break midway through season 5, and after a long break, it came back with a rushed ending. And just to remember how big Yellowstone had gotten: the Season 4 finale brought in over 10 million viewers.
What happens next in the Yellowstone universe?
Sheridan might have shut the door on Yellowstone, but a lot of spinoffs are already in the works. According to Collider, Dutton Ranch (with Beth and Rip, played by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser) is dropping later this year. A Kayce Dutton spin-off starring Luke Grimes has locked a 2026 window. The Madison, another new show with Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, and Matthew Fox, is also in the lineup alongside a prequel. Two other spin-offs, titled 1923 and 1883, have already aired.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Tony Winner Sam Pinkleton Never Thought Oh, Mary! Would Be a Broadway Hit
(Bloomberg) -- The riotously funny Oh, Mary!—a show that imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as an alcoholic and aspiring cabaret singer—won big at the Tony Awards on June 8, nabbing a best actor trophy for nonbinary comedian Cole Escola as Mary and a best director award for Sam Pinkleton. A veteran choreographer, Pinkleton was previously nominated for choreography in 2016 for Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, but Oh, Mary! is his first Broadway directing credit. The scrappy show started with a sold-out off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village before transferring to the Lyceum Theatre last summer and has since broken box-office records. The wildly inventive, madcap show has been a critical and commercial smash, with talent including Tituss Burgess and Betty Gilpin donning the curly wig and black dress to play Lincoln. Star Escola is back in another limited run on Broadway, which has been extended through September. Despite Oh, Mary! 's massive success, Pinkleton says he and Escola had no inkling the production could become as big as it has. 'We just made the thing we wanted to make, we didn't try to make a hit,' Pinkleton says. 'If we would have tried to make a hit, we would have failed, I know that for sure. That's not how art works.' Bloomberg Pursuits caught up with the director in late April and talked about working with the different actors who played Mary, crafting a hit without a Hollywood A-lister on board and what audiences want to see onstage now. What's it been like directing the show with different actors now? It's been Cole and then Betty and Tituss and now Cole again. It's been absolutely insane. The show was built to run for eight weeks downtown, which felt like the biggest gift ever. Like, we got to do this crazy gay extreme thing off-Broadway and for Cole. That was all we were trying to do. That felt like enough, and we extended forever. But we never thought we were going to go to Broadway, and we certainly never thought it would run for long enough on Broadway to have to replace people. I always think that for Oh, Mary!, the dream coming true happened over a year ago. This has all just been crazy phases of bonus stuff. In one breath, my answer is that it's all been amazing. And in another, it's required a lot of very exacting work to be like, 'Wait, what is this play? What do people love about it? What is a way to keep it what it is but also continue to be surprising?' So every Mary has required rethinking the part a little bit, but Cole wrote such a confident text, and it's become really fun to imagine all sorts of people in it. But I would be lying if I said we started thinking that that would ever be the case. So you didn't go into it thinking it would be on Broadway? Absolutely not. I mean, nobody said the word 'Broadway' until we were in our, like, second extension off-Broadway. If you told me when we were planning this off-Broadway that we might move to Broadway, I would be like, 'You are insane.' And frankly, I think having been in this position on other shows, I think if that had been in the room, the show wouldn't have been as good. I really believe that part of the success of it is that we genuinely were not trying to make some big commercial hit. What do you think about the show that's made it resonate with so many people? I think people really love to be surprised. And theater's really good at that. Cole and I agree on this—surprise is the engine of theater. And I think Oh, Mary! is a play that really loves being theater and delivers that sensation that you can only get in a room with actual people laughing at the same time, screaming at the same time. I'm sure we could find plenty of people who hated it, God bless 'em. But I think, to me, there's something really special about going on a ride with a group of people. And I love standing in the back of the Lyceum and watching 900 people watch the show, many of them at this point, like, families on vacation, which is insane. It feels like a relief. And I'm sure there's plenty of theater people who would hate me for saying this, but there's enough to be serious and sad about. I'm not that interested in making the theater—which is for people choosing to go have a night out—to also be a drag. The world is really good at being a drag. I would like for theater to exist in opposition to that. The world—or at least the news—can definitely be a drag right didn't mean to hit that. And the show is aggressively apolitical. But to put it simply, I just think people like to have a nice time. I spoke with Natasha Hodgson from Operation Mincemeat back in February and asked her a similar question about why her show has resonated with people. She told me that people just want to laugh and have fun. First of all, I'm obsessed with Natasha Hodgson, but that show Operation Mincemeat—we adore each other, and we talk all the time. And even though the shows are so different, I do feel like the missions are aligned, which is to give people a f---ing fun night at the theater. We see all these articles about Broadway shows breaking ticket-price records or making record amounts, and they're largely shows with big stars like George Clooney or Denzel Washington. You and Cole were able to make a hit without an A-list name attached to it. We cast Oh, Mary! with the people we wanted to cast it with, and we were very lucky that we had producers who really trusted Cole and I to make the show. At no point did anyone look at us and say you need to cast, you know, the fourth member of Destiny's Child in order to do the show. That sounds like a dig on Michelle Williams, who is the world's absolute greatest, and she's so good in Death Becomes Her. It's not a dig! But we cast who we thought would be great, and it was important to everyone that when we moved to Broadway, that everybody went with us, including the entire design team, many of whom were making their Broadway debut. I'm not going to knock, like, big starry things as long as they're good. I love working with stars. I'm working with stars right now, but I think the first mission should be 'let's make something good.' And if that happens to have stars in it, awesome. Oh, Mary! didn't. It could have. It didn't. And I'm so delighted that people seem to be coming because they want to see the play. More stories like this are available on
Hans India
11 hours ago
- Hans India
Pooja Sarees Couture Launched at Banjara Hills
Hyderabad: Celebrity Stylist, fashion designer and Managing Director of Pooja Sarees, Ram Agarwal opened his brand's latest Pooja Sarees Couture at Road No. 10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. Launch ceremony was graced by Hari Chandana Dasari, Spl Secretary to the Govt of Telangana (R&B) as Guest. BNI Hyderabad Executive Director Sanjana Shah, who jointly inaugurated the store along with Pooja Sarees founder Archana Agarwal. Speaking to the media, Ram Agarwal, Fashion Designer and Managing Director of Pooja Sarees, shared, 'We have styled many celebrities from Bollywood and Tollywood, and our collections have been showcased at various national and international fashion events. Our strength lies in offering exquisite designer outfits across categories like Sarees, Suits, Indo-western wear, and Lehengas—both in luxury and prêt segments.' Founder Archana Agarwal said that, 'We feature exclusive collections from across India—Patan Patola from Rajkot, Pettipoint from Ranchi, Lehriya and Bandhani from Rajasthan and Gujarat, Zari Kota from Rajasthan, Lucknowi embroidery from Lucknow, handwork ensembles from Kolkata, and designer wear from Delhi and Mumbai,' she said. The launch ceremony was graced by numerous celebrities and socialites who explored the vibrant and diverse couture pieces on display. Delete Edit
News18
12 hours ago
- News18
Ballet Dramedy Etoile Will No Longer Have A Second Season
Last Updated: As per reports, the decision to cancel the second season comes in the wake of performance vs cost disputes. In disappointing news for Etoile fans, Prime Video has confirmed that the ballet dramedy will not be returning for a second season. Created by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel duo Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, the show had initially been granted a two-season commitment. However, despite debuting in late April to positive reviews from both critics and viewers, the series has now been shelved. At the time, all eight episodes were dropped simultaneously on Prime Video. It is worth mentioning that in the Palladinos' follow-up to the critical and commercial hit, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, they received an initial order for two seasons in 2023. While most multi-season orders result in multiple runs, there have also been exceptions, as there is still an evaluation process after series receive approval with contingencies built in. According to a Deadline report, the decision came largely due to disputes over 'performance versus cost." On the other hand, it could also be attributed to the recent internal restructuring at Amazon with the former studio head's exit and Mike Hopkins taking over. What Is Etoile About? Said to be a passion project for Sherman-Palladino, Etoile is a story of dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies in New York and Paris. They will be seen embarking on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars. The show came as a deterrent for many casual viewers beyond their loyal fan base who have been following her from the iconic Gilmore Girls to Bunheads and the Emmy-winning Mrs Maisel. While the show is currently not returning for a second season, fans can stream the first part on Prime Video. First Published:
