Yellowstone (American TV series)

• Kevin Costner as John Dutton III, a widowed sixth-generation patriarch of the Dutton family who operates the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. As the series progresses, he is continually challenged by those seeking to take control of the ranch's land.
  • Josh Lucas portrays a young John Dutton (recurring seasons 1, 5; guest season 2)
• Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, a former US Navy SEAL and John and Evelyn's younger son. In the first season, he lived on the nearby Broken Rock Indian Reservation with his Native American wife and son. In the second season, he and his family moved to live at the Dutton Ranch. In season four, they moved off the ranch and into a home on their own property.
  • Rhys Alterman portrays a young Kayce Dutton (guest seasons 1–2)
• Kelly Reilly as Bethany "Beth" Dutton, a financier and John and Evelyn's third child, and only daughter. Although well educated, highly intelligent, and a master manipulator, Beth is bitter and emotionally unstable, and suffers from a substance abuse problem that she later overcomes. She is loyal and extremely protective of her father and in love with Rip Wheeler, whom she marries at the end of season 4.
  • Kylie Rogers portrays a young Beth Dutton (guest seasons 1–3, 5)
• Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton, an attorney, aspiring politician, and John and Evelyn's second-oldest child. Although completely loyal to his father and family, he is constantly frustrated by their apparent intolerance of him. Jamie has an intense love/hate relationship with his sister, Beth. In Season 3, it's revealed he was actually adopted by John and Evelyn after his biological father murdered his mother and went to prison. He has a son with his former assistant.
  • Dalton Baker portrays a young Jamie Dutton (guest seasons 1–3)
• Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler, the ranch foreman at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, and John's right-hand man and enforcer. Rip has worked on the ranch for many years and is fiercely loyal to John. He was taken in by Dutton as a young runaway after killing his father who murdered his mother and brother. Rip has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Beth since they were teenagers. They get married in Season 4.
  • Kyle Red Silverstein portrays a young Rip Wheeler (guest seasons 1–3, 5)
• Kelsey Asbille as Monica Long Dutton, Kayce's Native American wife and John's daughter-in-law. In the first season, she is a teacher at a local school on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. In the second season, she becomes a professor at Montana State University in Bozeman.[2]
• Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton, Kayce and Monica's son and John's only biological grandchild
• Jefferson White as Jimmy Hurdstrom, a ranch hand at Yellowstone and an amateur bronc rider. In Season 4, he left Yellowstone to join the 6666
• Danny Huston as Dan Jenkins, a billionaire land developer from California whose main goal was to take the Yellowstone ranch from John and his family (season 1–2)
• Gil Birmingham as Chief Thomas Rainwater, chief of the nearby fictional Broken Rock Indian Reservation. He seeks to reclaim the Yellowstone ranch from John and his family, land that he considers stolen from the Native Americans who originally inhabited it.
• Forrie J. Smith as Lloyd Pierce, a senior ranch hand at Yellowstone. He has worked with John on the Yellowstone/Dutton Ranch for many years (season 3–present; recurring seasons 1–2)
  • Forrest Smith portrays a young Lloyd Pierce (guest season 4)
• Denim Richards as Colby Mayfield, a ranch hand at Yellowstone (season 3–present; recurring seasons 1–2)
• Ian Bohen as Ryan, a ranch hand at Yellowstone and a livestock agent (season 4; recurring seasons 1–3)
• Ryan Bingham as Walker, a former prisoner recruited as a ranch hand at Yellowstone by Rip Wheeler (season 4; recurring seasons 1–3)
• Finn Little as Carter, a troubled teenager and orphan who is taken in by Beth Dutton and given a home at Yellowstone (season 4)
• Moses Brings Plenty as Mo, Chief Rainwater's driver and bodyguard (season 5; recurring seasons 1–4)[3]
• Wendy Moniz as Governor Lynelle Perry, the Governor of Montana, and John's love interest. (season 5; recurring seasons 1–4)[3]
• Jennifer Landon as Teeter, a tough-talking ranch hand from Texas (season 5; recurring season 3–4)[4]
• Kathryn Kelly as Emily, the chief vet technician for the 6666 Ranch and Jimmy's fiancée. (season 5; recurring season 4) [4]

In 2013, Taylor Sheridan began work on the series, having recently grown tired of acting and begun writing screenplays. Having lived in the rural parts of states such as Texas and Wyoming, Sheridan set the series in Montana and went about writing the first scripts in Livingston.[6]

On May 3, 2017, Paramount Network announced that it had greenlit its first scripted series, Yellowstone. Paramount issued a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was set to be written, directed, and executive-produced by Sheridan. Other executive producers were to include John Linson, Art Linson, Harvey Weinstein, and David Glasser. Production companies involved with the series were set to consist of Linson Entertainment and The Weinstein Company.[1]

On October 12, 2017, it was announced that following reports of sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, his name would be removed from the series' credits as would The Weinstein Company.[7] On January 15, 2018, Kevin Kay, president of Paramount Network, clarified during the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour that Yellowstone will not have The Weinstein Company's credits or logo on them, even though that company was involved in production. Furthermore, he stated that their intent is to replace Weinstein Television with the company's new name in the show's credits when available.[8] That same day, it was also announced that the series would premiere on June 20, 2018.[9]

On July 24, 2018, it was announced that Paramount Network had renewed the series for a second season that was expected to premiere in 2019.[10] On March 21, 2019, it was announced that the second season would premiere on June 19, 2019.[11] On June 19, 2019, the series was renewed by Paramount for a third season, which premiered on June 21, 2020.[5][12] On February 21, 2020, Paramount Network renewed the series for a fourth season, ahead of the premiere of its third season.[13] The fourth season premiered on November 7, 2021.[14] On February 3, 2022, Paramount Network renewed the series for a fifth season, which will be split into two installments of seven episodes each.[15][16][17] The fifth season is scheduled to premiere on November 13, 2022.[18]

On May 15, 2017, it was announced that Kevin Costner had been cast in the series lead role of John Dutton.[19] In June 2017, it was reported that Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Wes Bentley, and Kelly Reilly had joined the main cast.[20][21] On July 13, 2017, it was announced that Kelsey Asbille had been cast in a main role.[22] In August 2017, it was reported that Dave Annable, Gil Birmingham, and Jefferson White had been added to the main cast while Wendy Moniz, Gretchen Mol, Jill Hennessy, Patrick St. Esprit, Ian Bohen, Denim Richards, and Golden Brooks were joining the cast in a recurring capacity.[23][24][25][26] In November 2017, it was announced that Michaela Conlin and Josh Lucas had been added to the cast in recurring roles.[27][28] On December 19, 2017, it was reported that Heather Hemmens was joining the cast in a recurring capacity.[29] On June 13, 2018, it was announced that Barret Swatek had been cast in a recurring role.[30] On September 14, 2018, it was announced that Neal McDonough was joining the cast of season two in a recurring capacity.[31] On July 1, 2021, it was announced that Jacki Weaver, Piper Perabo, Kathryn Kelly and Finn Little were joining the cast in the fourth season.[32] On February 3, 2022, it was announced alongside the fifth season renewal that Jennifer Landon and Kelly were promoted to series regulars for the season.[16]

Principal photography for the series began in August 2017 at the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, which stands in as the home of John Dutton. Filming also took place that month near Park City, Utah. The production used all three soundstages at the Utah Film Studios in Park City, which is a total of 45,000 square feet. The building also houses offices, editing, a wardrobe department and construction shops. By November 2017, the series had filmed in more than twenty locations in Utah, including the Salt Flats, Promontory Club, and Spanish Fork. Additionally, filming also took place at various locations in Montana. Production reportedly lasted until December 2017.[33][34]

In August 2020, the series announced that filming was completely moved to Montana. An undisclosed production location was rented in Missoula, Montana.[35] Film locations included the Community Medical Center, Ryman Street near the County Courthouse, and a diner (Ruby's Cafe) on Brooks Street in Missoula, as well as places in nearby Hamilton, Montana.[36]

Filming for season 5 started in June 2022 in Missoula.[37]

Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana.

Filming of the "log mansion" home of John Dutton[38] is at the main house of the Chief Joseph Ranch which is now a guest ranch just south of Darby.[39]

The house was built between 1914 and 1917 after Cincinnati, Ohio residents William S. Ford (1866–1935) and Howard Clark Hollister (1856–1919) purchased 2,500 acres on the Bitterroot River for a vacation home and formed the Ford-Hollister Ranch. Ford was chairman of Owens-Illinois Glass in Toledo, Ohio.[40] Hollister was a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Bates & Gamble of Toledo were the architects. The house is 5,000 square feet including a 2,200 square foot parlor.[41]

The house has a log cabin motif and was dubbed "log mansion" by The New York Times.[41] It has been compared in style to the Old Faithful Inn which opened in 1904 and is 294 driving miles[42] away in Yellowstone National Park. The Times described it as "A diverse combination of arches, gables and dormers, set off by logs placed vertically and horizontally, adds an elegance to log-home design that is seldom seen."[41]

The complex includes 3 large barns built to house Holstein cattle. It was claimed it was the largest dairy herd west of the Mississippi River. Ford later gave up the dairy cattle and began raising Hereford cattle.[43] After Ford died, his wife and daughter operated it as a guest house. They sold it in 1952. It went through a series of new owners who renamed it for Chief Joseph who is said to have passed through its area during the Nez Perce War. Among the various owners is Mel Pervais, a self-made millionaire and member of the Ojibwa Nation who owned it from 1987 to 2004.

The series' score was composed by Brian Tyler. He worked with musicians from the London Philharmonia Orchestra and viola, cello, and violin soloists. On August 17, 2018, the soundtrack for the first season was released by Sony Music.[44]

NBCUniversal's Peacock acquired the U.S. streaming rights to Yellowstone in 2020, with the first two seasons debuting in July of that year.[50] Paramount Global President and CEO Bob Bakish has since called the timing of the deal "unfortunate"; due to the show's improved reception, viewership, and popularity in its later seasons. Critics have noted that Yellowstone's absence from Paramount's own, similarly-named streaming service, Paramount+ (in-spite of the show's spinoffs being produced for the service), in addition to current seasons available on Paramount Network's apps and website primarily through TV Everywhere (thus, requiring a cable subscription), have caused confusion among viewers and the show's fans on social media.[51][52]

Full episodes and seasons of Yellowstone are available for purchase on all major digital entertainment distribution stores in the U.S., with Amazon's Prime Video streaming new episodes in Canada the day after their U.S. broadcast on Paramount Network.[53] Starting with the 5th season, it will be moved to Paramount+ in Canada.[54]

A prequel series, titled 1883, premiered on December 19, 2021, on Paramount+ following a five-year deal signed by Sheridan with ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment Group.[55][56][14] Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill star in the series.[57]

This series also got a sequel named 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, as was announced in May 2022.[58]

1923 will focus on a new generation of the Dutton Family during the time of Western Expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression, which in Montana started a decade earlier.[59][60] It will star Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford and will premiere on Paramount+.[61] The series was initially named 1932,[61] but in June 2022 it was announced that the title was changed to 1923,[62] and it was also announced that the series would take place in the new titular year rather than the former.[60] Sebastian Roché joined the cast in a recurring role.[63]

Preproduction began in Butte, Montana, in July 2022[64] with filming expected to start in mid-August,[65] just a few days after filming for Yellowstone is scheduled to be completed. 1923 is expected to debut on Paramount+ in December 2022.[60]

Another planned spin-off, titled 6666, is set in the present day on the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas.[66][67] It will premiere on Paramount Network.[68]

Following its premiere, the show was met with a mixed response from critics. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 54 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[69] On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 55% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.8/10 based on 51 reviews. The website's critical consensus of the first season reads, "Yellowstone proves too melodramatic to be taken seriously, diminishing the effects of the talented cast and beautiful backdrops."[70]

Subsequent seasons were met with much more positive reviews with the second season garnering an approval rating of 88%, based on 8 reviews [71] the third season garnering an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 6 critics[72] and the fourth season of the show garnering an approval rating of 89% based on reviews from 9 critics.[73]