Yellowstone is coming back on Sunday, November 13, but it won’t be the normal 10-episode run fans have come to expect. The Paramount Network series is back for an extended Season 5, with 14 episodes to enjoy.
The cast and co-creator Taylor Sheridan spoke with Entertainment Tonight about the new season, and Sheridan made a particularly interesting statement, revealing, “if you look at everyone as a chess piece in Season 5, it is impossible to keep playing the game without taking chess pieces off the board.”
This means someone important is likely to see their final episode in Season 5. At the end of Season 3, the audience was left to wonder who survived the targeted hit on the Duttons — but as Season 4 revealed, all our favorites miraculously lived. Sheridan knows audiences wouldn’t accept such a move a second time around. As much as it hurts to say goodbye to main characters, a show with this much bloodshed must eventually catch up to its main characters. The series premiere opened with the loss of a Dutton, but the rest of the family has remained upright through multiple illnesses and attempts on their lives.
Cole Hauser, who plays Rip, called the first two episodes of the new season “fantastic,” and Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth, said, “the problem is how do we top it every year, right? The fierceness is legitimately ramping up.” Meanwhile, Kevin Costner (who plays Dutton patriarch John) pointed out, “You gotta kinda keep your foot on the gas. If it doesn’t surprise you then it’s very unlikely that it will surprise an audience.” (It was also revealed that Costner is the highest paid actor on TV, reportedly making $1.3 million for each episode.)
And when asked if he could see his adopted son Jamie (played by Wes Bentley) falling into good graces with his character this season, Costner noted that such warmth wouldn’t work for this series: “Probably the show would end. My dysfunctional family really disturbs me.” Plus, Beth did just give John the ammunition he needs against Jamie. In the Season 4 finale, she snapped a photo of him disposing of his biological father’s body (after essentially putting the gun in his hand to shoot him).
With these teases, as well as the declaration in the first trailer for the new season, we expect some big revelations and changes in those early episodes.
Yellowstone, Seasons 1-4, Streaming Now, Peacock; Season 5, Sunday, November 13, Paramount Network
