The country singer Ed Bruce put it best in 1976 when he sang, “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.” If the wild and ever-expanding universe of “Yellowstone” and its many spin-offs have taught us anything, it’s this simple lesson. The life of the modern cowboy may — in its way — be a glamorous one full of big skies, farm-raised beef, and perfectly tailored denim jackets, but it’s also a lonely one, riven with greed, competition, and betrayal.
Now the most-watched series on television, “Yellowstone” originally aired on the little-known Paramount Network as a humble look at the fight that one Montana ranching empire continued to wage against all who sought to intercede on their inherited claim to the land. Series creator, writer, and showrunner Taylor Sheridan has since massively expanded his own empire after “Yellowstone” took off, launching as many six spin-off series currently on the air with several more to come, and cannily engineering each production to drive even more profit into his coffers in the form of location and bovine rentals.
Sheridan recently surveyed the bounds of his domain in a wide-ranging profile in The Hollywood Reporter, making several chilling comparisons between the noble yet tragic tycoons on “Yellowstone” and himself. “I was surprised by the amount of political influence that we have” with the newly acquired ranch where he permits Paramount to shoot his shows, Sheridan admitted, though conceded, “I don’t know why I was surprised — I wrote it into ‘Yellowstone.'” Sheridan also revealed that he wasn’t the only one who was surprised by dark turn the life of a cowboy can take. Star Kevin Costner apparently wasn’t thrilled when he realized just what lengths his hero, John Dutton, would go to preserve Yellowstone Ranch.
The Godfather on the largest ranch in Montana
The author of the profile, James Hibberd, asked Sheridan for clarification about rumors that he and Costner clashed about Dutton’s character arc. It was specifically reported (by The Daily Mail, so, do with that what you will) that after the two came to loggerheads over Dutton’s season 2 trajectory that Sheridan dismissively told Costner to “stick to acting.”
If you haven’t seen “Yellowstone,” season 2 charts an ongoing feud between the Dutton clan and a family called the Becks who have a competing interest in the region. Things take a decidedly dark turn toward the end of the season, and even the gallant Dutton patriarch takes a hand in the dealings. Sheridan recalled his tension with Costner over the unfolding drama:
“There was a time in season 2 when he was very upset and said the character wasn’t going in the direction he wanted. I said, ‘Kevin, you do remember that I told you this is essentially ‘The Godfather’ on the largest ranch in Montana? Are you that surprised that the Godfather is killing people?'”
Sheridan felt that Costner had “clung to [Dutton’s] commitments to his family and way of life,” but was somewhat blinded to “Dutton’s big failing,” that is, that he isn’t “evolving with the times — not finding different revenue streams [for the ranch].” Though Sheridan does admit, “I don’t know that he was wrong. In season 3, we steered back into it.”
In the end it seems Sheridan did get his way, as Dutton has only grown darker as “Yellowstone” has gone on. But as the show announced its fifth season will be its last … shortly after Costner revealed the fifth season would be his last, it appears Costner may have really been the Godfather of the “Yellowstone”-verse after all.