When it comes to the biggest TV shows and movies, the drama isn’t always limited to what viewers see on the screen. A perfect case in point: “Yellowstone,” the modern Western drama that would become a massive hit for Paramount — but which was built around two strong-willed talents in the form of star Kevin Costner and creator Taylor Sheridan, both of whom are so reportedly headstrong that they each decided to depart for greener pastures.
After clashing with each other at times, Costner left the show early. Sheridan, for reasons of his own, has reached a deal to leave Paramount for NBCUniversal once his current contract expires at the end of 2028.
In a 2024 interview with Deadline, Costner laid out his side of a story that, at least by that point, had begun to be the subject of a gossipy rumor mill, the flames fanned by journalists like Puck’s Matt Belloni who was presenting Costner as more or less a pill on set (which we’ve covered in the past). To Deadline, Costner said he’d grown frustrated with how the situation was being publicly characterized, explaining that “it wasn’t truthful” — and that the collapse of “Yellowstone’s” production schedule is what ultimately pushed him out.
Why Yellowstone’s biggest star walked away
According to Costner, he originally signed a deal covering Seasons 5, 6, and 7 (the show ended up concluding with Season 5). After months of back-and-forth, Paramount came back with a very different proposal: The idea was to split Season 5 into two parts, and maybe get around to a Season 6 later. Complicating matters was “Horizon: An American Saga,” Costner’s passion-project Western film franchise — but even then, he insisted “Yellowstone” was always in “first position,” and that he only slotted “Horizon” into the gaps left in the TV schedule.
“They just kept moving their gaps,” Costner said about “Yellowstone’s” decision-makers, insisting that it was the production instability that derailed his future on the show. In a June 2024 Instagram post, Costner told viewers: “Hi everyone. I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things that’s required, and thinking about ‘Yellowstone’ — that beloved series that I love, that I know you love — I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5b … I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
And now, it’s Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s turn
As noted above, meanwhile, now it’s “Yellowstone” creator Sheridan who’s also set to walk away (from the network itself, that is, and not right away). Sheridan recently signed a five-year deal with NBCUniversal, reportedly worth up to $1 billion. The motivations were many, and they included disagreements with Paramount’s new owners, having to deal with budget concerns from the new executives and feeling a general “lack of respect.”
Of course, “Yellowstone” was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Sheridan’s prolific output for Paramount. The “Yellowstone” franchise also includes spinoffs such as “1883” and “1923,” with even more set to launch in the coming months. He also launched “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Landman,” “Lioness,” and “Tulsa King” under Paramount’s banner over the past several years.
In hindsight, it probably makes all the sense in the world that the two men who made “Yellowstone” such a success left for greener pastures the way characters do so many times in classic Westerns — by riding off in different directions.
