Yellowstone is one of the most popular TV shows currently running, and many fans are wondering if there will still be a Season 6 due to the seeming departure of series lead Kevin Costner

The Western drama is currently in the midst of its fifth season on the Paramount Network. The mid-season finale aired on January 1, 2023, and the initial expectation was for Part 2 to be released sometime later this year.

 

 

However, due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, production for Part 2 was delayed.

Initial plans suggested Yellowstone would continue for two more seasons after Season 5.

However, Paramount and series creator Taylor Sheridan were forced to end the show after Part 2 of Season 5 for several reasons – the biggest being the drama between Sheridan and Kevin Costner.

 

 

It seemed as though the drama began when Costner did not want to dedicate more than one week to filming Part 2 of Season 5.

Costner stated in a November 2022 interview with USA Today that he only planned “to do one season,” but that he would be willing “to step away” if needed:

However, after Costner did not want to commit to filming, the Paramount Network officially canceled the series, but will keep its legacy going with several spin-offs on the way.

It was reported that Costner did not want to commit more than a week to filming Part 2 of Season 5, which ultimately led to severe tension between the actor and series creator Taylor Sheridan.

Seeing as Costner is the series lead and has earned an incredible amount of money for the show, his not wanting to dedicate the proper amount of time to the production likely rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Previously, Costner reportedly limited himself to being available for 65 days of shooting but he then reduced that number to 50 days for Part 1 of Season 5.

It is also important to mention that Costner will be starring in and directing his own Western duology titled Horizon. While the film finished filming in November 2022, there are already more installments planned for the future, with the next already in production (which began filming in May).

The actor admitted in a court hearing in September 2023 (shared by Deadline) that breaking up Season 5 into two sections “affected Horizon,” which messed up his plans and ultimately caused him to commit more time to a show that he thought he “was only doing once a year:”

Due to the drama surrounding Costner, it is unclear just how much screen time he will have in Part 2 of Season 5.

However, after Paramount and Taylor Sheridan decided to cancel the flagship show, plans for another spin-off were immediately announced.

Amid the drama between Kevin Costner and the cast and crew of Yellowstone, it was confirmed by Paramount Media Networks head Chris McCarthy in June that a new spinoff show was officially in the works starring Matthew McConaughey.

This news broke when the future of Yellowstone was still up in the air, but McCarthy let fans know that the flagship series would not affect McConaughey’s show, meaning that it would be released no matter what.

Taylor Sheridan previously called McConaughey a “natural fit” in his Yellowstone (per The Hollywood Reporter).

Sheridan also detailed some of the conversations that he had with the actor over the years regarding his thoughts on the Yellowstone franchise, and that McConaughey eventually couldn’t resist the temptation of joining it himself: