After an almost two-year-long hiatus, Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western series Yellowstone is back. The hit Paramount series that follows a ranching family in Montana fighting to maintain their way of life premiered Part 2 of its fifth and final season on Nov. 10 — and did so without its leading man.
In February 2023, rumors began swirling that Kevin Costner, who plays Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton, was leaving the show to focus on his multi-part Western movie series Horizon: An American Saga.
Deadline reported that Costner was “a source of frustration” for Sheridan due to his divided attention and limited shooting schedule. When an agreement between the two parties couldn’t be reached, the network announced that the second half of season 5 would be the show’s final installment, followed by two spinoff series.
Costner’s costar and fictional son, Luke Grimes, told PEOPLE that filming the last episodes without him “felt different.”
“Him not coming back felt like, ‘Okay, we’re going to have to land this plane now for real,’ ” he said. “I think the patriarch leaving was always going to be part of the story. That’s always where it was headed is like, what do these kids do? What does this family do when their rock is gone?”
The show has been a hit for Paramount Network since its debut in 2018, garnering widespread critical acclaim and a loyal fanbase. But the drama behind the scenes has been just as intense, and Costner isn’t the only cast member to go toe-to-toe with Sheridan.
The drama doesn’t end there. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest behind-the-scenes scandals that have rocked the Yellowstone franchise.