Yellowstone’s Downfall Can Be Traced Back To One Moment

There was a time when “Yellowstone” was on top of the world, so far as mainstream television was concerned. What started as a somewhat unassuming Western TV show on an upper-tier cable channel became a breakout hit, in no small part thanks to the participation of Oscar-winner Kevin Costner in the lead role as John Dutton. “Yellowstone” set a huge record as the most-watched show of 2022. It was massive. Then, it all came crashing down.

“Yellowstone” Season 5 became its last, with a massive gap between “Part 1” and “Part 2” of that season. Series creator Taylor Sheridan decided to focus more on the show’s spin-offs, as well as his other projects, with the series finale airing in December 2024. That was that. But where, exactly, did it all go wrong? When was the downfall of this once mighty TV titan? Frankly, it’s not that hard to figure out.

To put my cards on the table, I’ve not seen a single episode of the show. I’m merely someone who writes about this stuff professionally and pays attention to the business. Anyone who does that can tell you with confidence that the behind-the-scenes drama between Sheridan and Costner is without a doubt what doomed “Yellowstone.” Once Costner checked out, however that actually went down, the writing was on the wall.

Indeed, it was reported in May 2023 that Costner was leaving “Yellowstone” after Season 5. That raised eyebrows and sounded alarms. Any time a lead actor leaves a show, that’s to be expected. But as the headlines continued to swirl, it became clear that this wasn’t just a guy stepping away from a series. There was much more to the story.

To this day, it’s still not entirely clear how everything went down. What we know for sure is that Taylor Sheridan became the busiest man in showbusiness, with a ton of series on the air, all of which he was chiefly responsible for. Kevin Costner, meanwhile, had other projects he wanted to do while also fronting “Yellowstone.” Tension mounted. It even came to light that Costner was “very upset” with “Yellowstone” Season 2, long before his departure.

The gap between the end of “Part 1” of “Yellowstone” Season 5 and “Part 2” is where things really started to go south. Costner wanted to go make his long-planned Western movie saga “Horizon,” which he did. But that conflicted with the planned schedule for the show, which caused issues. Not for nothing, we still don’t know what’s going on with “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2” after the first movie bombed in theaters. But that’s another story.

Sheridan has explained Costner’s surprising “Yellowstone” exit, suggesting that the actor stayed on the show even longer than he wanted to in the first place:

“Even though Kevin was ready to go —he had other things he wanted to do — he stayed on for another two seasons, and that was just because the show was such a behemoth and such a huge hit that the notion of giving up a hit before it had run of juice to squeeze is very foreign to a network.”

But it’s not that simple. Costner explained his “Yellowstone” exit and said he’d “probably go to court” over it in 2023. It wasn’t an amicable parting of ways. The main point is that Costner leaving and the feud that went on undoubtedly derailed the show. It’s that simple.

It’s also worth pointing out that even when Kevin Costner was still on the show, things were far from rosey. Costner’s clash with a co-star reportedly left “Yellowstone” lead Kelly Reilly in tears, and while Costner has a bit of a reputation for being difficult to work with in general, reports like this are still a bad look. At a certain point, even wildly popular TV shows are forced to buckle to external pressures, particularly when they involve their leading men.

Be that as it may, Taylor Sheridan and Paramount have made the most out of the situation. It’s a real lemons/lemonade deal they’ve got going on. Spoilers, but “Yellowstone” Season 5 dealt with John Dutton by revealing he’s dead. The show moved on and got to its finale without him. More than that, Sheridan has made the most of the greater “Yellowstone” universe he established by not only developing prequels such as “1883” and “1923” but spin-offs as well.

First and foremost is “Dutton Ranch,” which is getting a Season 2. What happens beyond that remains to be seen, but its protagonists Beth Dutton (Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) have effectively picked up where John Dutton left off. There’s also “Marshals,” which has brought Luke Grimes’ Kayce Dutton to network TV, resulting in a big hit on CBS. So, even without Costner, the “Yellowstone” franchise has thrived. It wasn’t a happy marriage or a happy divorce, but the dust settled, and everyone figured out a path forward.

You can stream “Yellowstone” on Peacock.