This would be a huge blow for Paramount and CBS. Kevin Costner is supposedly going to ditch Yellowstone after the end of the current season as his other projects filming schedules are rumored to be conflicting with Yellowstone’s own.
You don’t need me to tell you that Yellowstone going off air because its main star’s filming schedule conflicted with the show’s is a massive blow of epic proportions for Paramount and CBS.
It’s really not an understatement to say that Paramount and its streaming service, Paramount+, are totally and completely reliant on the success that Yellowstone and its subsequent spinoff shows have brought to the network. Seriously, can anyone actually name a really popular drama/comedy/anything that’s not a documentary or reality series that has come out of Paramount’s studios in the last twenty years not named Yellowstone or related to the show in any way?
I guess there’s Star Trek, but that franchise has been beaten to a pulp by bad writing, overreliance on old characters and plot, and brainless directors/producers trying to milk more cash out of the franchise that it’s barely clinging on to life at this point. And shows like Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown are just way too similar to Yellowstone (western-esque shows) for me to not associate them with one another.
So, what else is there? Evil? The Stand? The Good Fight? I don’t think so.
I’m not saying these shows are bad (for I really haven’t seen too much of anyone of these shows), but they aren’t what one would call “pinnacle television”.
Nevertheless, everyone and their grandmother has heard about Yellowstone and the overwhelming success it has brought to Paramount and CBS. I mean, you wouldn’t have successful and loved shows like 1883 or 1923, both of which are prequels to Yellowstone, without the ultra-popularity of the flagship series. That’s how popular and important Yellowstone is to Paramount.
Personally, I’ve never seen a second of the show (I don’t know why other than I just never got around to it), but I can appreciate the success and relevance it’s had on the entertainment world. The show wouldn’t have gotten Emmy, Golden Globe, or SAG nominations (and a Best TV Actor win in the case of Kevin Costner for his portrayal of John Dutton at the 2023 Golden Globes), and five seasons on network TV if it wasn’t beloved by the general public and critics alike.
And that’s why Paramount has to keep Kevin Costner on at all costs.
Breaking up the continuity of the show and the universe of Yellowstone at large over such a minor conflict, which this scheduling issue appears to be, is a criminal offense in the sphere of entertainment, which I’m sure Paramount realizes. Therefore, it only seems likely that the Parmount executives will do anything and everything to accommodate Costner in order to keep the show rolling for however long the projected season count was supposed to be.
Of course, this might also be a case of Costner getting sick of portraying the same character over and over again and wanting to move on to different projects, and that would just be unlucky for Paramount. You can’t force a superstar actor to do portray a character they have lost passion in for long before said actor starts milking in the performance.
Yet, seeing how I haven’t heard that rumor, Paramount and Costner should be able to resolve this issue and resuscitate the stopped hearts of all Yellowstone fans when they saw this news today.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Paramount) (Yellowstone Season 5 Official Trailer | Paramount Network – YouTube)
