Well, it seems Yellowstone is officially over…again. After nearly two years of radio silence, Dutton-family actors Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, and Wes Bentley finally confirmed the end of the series.
For Yellowstone fans, it’s a bit strange that the never-ending roller coaster of emotions is coming to a complete stop. It’s been only a month since rumors swirled that Reilly (Beth Dutton), Grimes (Kayce Dutton), and Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) were in talks to return for a potential sixth season of the hit western. Now some of those same names are discussing the upcoming finale.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Grimes told Entertainment Weekly about Yellowstone’s final episode. “I think it’s a perfect ending for the show for every character. It’s just a testament to what a good writer [creator Taylor Sheridan] is, and it’s a very, very profound, beautiful ending.”
Wes Bentley—who previously admitted to The New York Times that playing Jamie Dutton was detrimental to his mental health—is no doubt thankful to move on from the franchise as well. “It’s one of the biggest things I’ve ever been a part of, and it’s a character that’s a double-edged sword,” he added in the EW story. “It’s both very satisfying to play a character who’s given so much emotional work to do, but it also takes its toll. I’m excited to let him go, but I’m also sad to let him go.”
Wherever Sheridan’s Yellowstone empire heads next, it might not involve the Duttons. Kevin Costner is also out, though that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Paramount recently announced that the first spin-off series set in Yellowstone’s modern-day timeline—titled The Madison—will focus on an entirely new family, the Clyburns. Michelle Pfeiffer is set to lead the upcoming drama, alongside Matthew Fox.
Still, the most surprising new tidbit comes from Reilly. In that same EW conversation, she claimed that Yellowstone “was always going to be five seasons in [Sheridan’s] head.” According to the actress, “The show became so successful, the network and everyone wanted more.” Then the delays from the SAG-AFTRA and writers’ strikes changed everything. “In a way, fate took it, and we ended this part of Yellowstone in a way that he always envisioned it to end,” she said of the finale. “We got to finish something rather than draw something out or prolong it.”
It’s a little tough to believe that Sheridan—who created three Yellowstone spin-off series and is currently developing two more—always wanted the series to end with season 5. But who knows! There’s so much back-and-forth about the future of Yellowstone that I’d believe anything at this point. For now, it appears to be curtains for the Dutton family…until we hear otherwise.
As an assistant editor at Esquire, Rosenberg covers film, TV, sports, anime, music, and video games. When he’s not trying to remember character names from House of the Dragon, you can find him theorizing about the future of Yellowstone, or putting another hundred hours into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rosenberg's standout stories include an interview with Olympic breakdancing athlete Victor Montalvo, a pitch to the Oscars to add a Best Animal Actor category, and a plea for Hollywood to fix bad movie titles. His past work can be found at Spin, Insider, and his personal blog at Roseandblog.com. What’s one piece of life advice that Josh can give? A movie a day keeps the doctor away.
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