Yellowstone (U.S. TV series)

Main

• Kevin Costner as John Dutton, the 6th generation patriarch of the Dutton family which controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. He is confronted with challenge of defending his land from those who would seek to take it from him while also overcoming the recent death of his son and a recent diagnosis of colon cancer. Josh Lucas portrays a young John Dutton in a recurring role.
• Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, a former US Navy SEAL and one of John and Evelyn's sons. He lives on the local Indian reservation with his wife and son. Rhys Alterman portrays a young Kayce in a recurring role.
• Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton, a financier and the daughter of John and Evelyn. She is educated, highly intelligent, and a master manipulator. She is also, however, very unstable and suffers from a substance abuse problem. Kylie Rogers portrays a young Beth in a recurring role.
• Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton, an attorney, aspiring politician, and one of John and Evelyn's sons. Although completely loyal to his father and family, he is constantly frustrated at the current state of his family. He also has an intense love/hate relationship with his sister Beth. Dalton Baker portrays a young Jamie in a recurring role.
• Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler, the ranch foreman at Yellowstone and John's right-hand man and enforcer. Rip has worked on the ranch for many years since being taken in by a young John Dutton and is therefore fiercely loyal to John. He has an on-again, off-again relationship with Beth. Kyle Red Silverstein portrays a young Rip Wheeler in a guest appearance in the episode "The Unraveling: Pt. 1".
• Kelsey Asbille as Monica Dutton, Kayce's Native American wife with whom he lives on the local reservation, where she is a teacher at the school.
• Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton, the son of Kayce and Monica and John's only grandchild.
• Jefferson White as Jimmy Hurdstrom, a ranch hand at Yellowstone.
• Danny Huston as Dan Jenkins, a land developer with aspirations of building on parts of Yellowstone.
• Gil Birmingham as Chief Thomas Rainwater, the chief of the nearby Indian reservation.

Recurring

Guest

Development

In 2013, Taylor Sheridan began work on the series, having recently grown tired of acting and begun writing screenplays. Having lived in the rural parts of states such as Texas and Wyoming, Sheridan purposely set the series in Montana and went about writing the first scripts in Livingston.^[11]

On May 3, 2017, it was announced that the Paramount Network had greenlit its first scripted series, Yellowstone. Paramount issued a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was set to be written, directed, and executive-produced by Sheridan. Other executive producers were to include John Linson, Art Linson, Harvey Weinstein, and David Glasser. Production companies involved with the series were set to consist of Linson Entertainment and The Weinstein Company.^[1]

On October 12, 2017, it was announced that following reports of sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, his name would be removed from the series' credits as would The Weinstein Company as well.^[12] On January 15, 2018, Kevin Kay, president of Paramount Network, clarified during the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour that Yellowstone will not have The Weinstein Company's credits or logo on them, even though that company was involved in production. Furthermore, he stated that their intent is to replace Weinstein Television with the company's new name in the show's credits when available.^[13] That same day, it was also announced that the series would premiere on June 20, 2018.^[14]

On July 24, 2018, it was announced that Paramount Network had renewed the series for a second season that was expected to premiere in 2019.^[15]

Casting

On May 15, 2017, it was announced that Kevin Costner had been cast in the series lead role of John Dutton.^[16] In June 2017, it was reported that Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Wes Bentley, and Kelly Reilly had joined the cast as series regulars.^[17][18] On July 13, 2017, it was announced that Kelsey Asbille had been cast in a main role.^[19] In August 2017, it was reported that Dave Annable, Gil Birmingham, and Jefferson White had been added to the main cast while Wendy Moniz, Gretchen Mol, Jill Hennessy, Patrick St. Esprit, Ian Bohen, Denim Richards, and Golden Brooks were joining the cast in a recurring capacity.^{[20][21][22][23]} In November 2017, it was announced that Michaela Conlin and Josh Lucas had been added to the cast in recurring roles.^[24][25] On December 19, 2017, it was reported that Heather Hemmens was joining the cast in a recurring capacity.^[26] On June 13, 2018, it was announced that Barret Swatek had been cast in a recurring role.^[27] On September 14, 2018, it was announced that Neal McDonough was joining the cast of season two in a recurring capacity.^[28]

Filming

Principal photography for the series began in August 2017 at the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, which stands in as the home of John Dutton. Filming also took place that month near Park City, Utah. The production used all three soundstages at the Utah Film Studio in Park City, which is a total of 45,000 square feet. The building also houses offices, editing, a huge wardrobe department and construction shops. By November 2017, the series had filmed in more than twenty locations in Utah, including the Salt Flats and Spanish Fork. Additionally, filming also took place at various locations in Montana. Production was reportedly set to last until December 2017.^[29][30]

Music

The series' score was composed by Brian Tyler who worked with musicians from the London Philharmonia Orchestra and viola, cello, and violin soloists. On August 17, 2018, the soundtrack for the first season was released by Sony Music.^[31]

Marketing

On February 28, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released.^[32] On April 26, 2018, the first full trailer was released.^[33]

Premiere

On June 25, 2018, the series held a screening at Seriesfest, an annual international television festival, at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado.^[34][35]

Critical response

The series was met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 51% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.86 out of 10 based on 35 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Yellowstone proves too melodramatic to be taken seriously, diminishing the effects of the talented cast and beautiful backdrops."^[36] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 53 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."^[37]

Ratings

The two-hour series premiere of Yellowstone averaged 2.8 million viewers in live + same day and became the most-watched original scripted series telecast ever on Paramount Network (or its predecessor Spike). The premiere audience grows to nearly 4 million when the two encore airings of the premiere are factored in. The premiere audience more than doubled that of Paramount Network's first scripted drama series, Waco and more than tripled the debut viewership of Paramount Network's new comedy series, American Woman.^[38] It was later reported that the premiere's Live+3 Nielsen ratings revealed that 4.8 million viewers ultimately watched the premiere after delayed viewing was factored in.^[39] By the series' third episode, it was reported that the show had become the second most watched television series on ad-supported cable to air in 2018, only behind AMC's The Walking Dead.^[40]