Season 5 of Yellowstone will be the end of the hit Paramount show, the New York Post reports, but tensions behind the scenes are reportedly delaying the second half of the season’s release.
The series has been making headlines as rumors swirled that its star, Kevin Costner, refused to commit to the Season 5 production schedule, causing massive delays. But sources claim series creator Taylor Sheridan‘s ego is to blame.
“It’s the same as with any showrunner and big star — there’s respect, but there’s friction,” a source from production claims.
The first half of Season 5 premiered on Paramount in November 2022. But the latter half has been stuck in limbo since filming and production haven’t even finished yet.
Sources claim that Sheridan, who also runs the Yellowstone spinoffs 1883 and 1923, is “overburdened” with his workload. While previous reports claimed that Costner only appeared for a week to film the entire second half of Season 5, a source told the Post that there were no scripts prepared.
“Taylor is overburdened and Kevin made himself available at the beginning of the year, but again, nothing was ready,” a source alleged. “Kevin had already committed to making his other movies. He had given the producers his schedule.”
They continued, “In the entertainment industry, you can’t keep yourself in a holding pattern and available while the producers are not getting their act together with the scripts. There was nothing to shoot.”
Another source who has worked with Sheridan confirmed that his ego is playing a role in this. “Taylor is the star of his show. He’s the most important person on all of his shows,” they said.
It is still unclear if Costner will be returning to the show that revived his career. He is currently writing and directing a four-film Western series titled Horizon, an American Saga. Paramount executives have said they were “confident” that Costner will come back to the series but the Golden Globe-winning actor has not publicly addressed the matter.
Sheridan may be spread thin with his slate of Yellowstone dramas but there’s already more coming down the pipeline. Paramount President Chris McCarthy recently confirmed another spinoff starring Matthew McConaughey is in the works, among more than 10 other projects Sheridan has in development.
It’s difficult to believe that Yellowstone will be nearing its end so soon. Though it regularly brings in record-breaking numbers, Paramount is also hoping to give its other shows a moment to shine.
“Paramount doesn’t want ‘Yellowstone’ on the air for more than another year [and competing with their shows]. They’d prefer to have a new [Sheridan] show with Paramount+,” a source said.
If the series does end prematurely, the Yellowstone saga will certainly continue through Sheridan’s other projects.
For now, sources appear hopeful that the upcoming writers strike will give them time to figure out a production schedule for the rest of Season 5.