Conflict looms for Costner’s Dutton in ‘Yellowstone’
Kevin Costner’s John Dutton is stepping into combustible “Yellowstone” politics.
Paramount Network has released the Season 5 trailer for Taylor Sheridan’s Western drama that shows the formidable Dutton patriarch and rancher being sworn in as Montana’s governor.
One of Dutton’s first power moves is to fire his entire top staff and place trusted (yet combustible) daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) as his chief of staff.
“We’re already at war,” Dutton says of his many enemies, including Caroline Warner (Jacki Weaver), CEO of the company seeking to buy out landowners in order to build an airport and transform Montana.
What to know about the expanding “Yellowstone” universe:
What will happen in ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5
Based on the trailer, we can see that the Warner conflict will loom large.
“Ruin them, starting with her,” Warner says of the Duttons, including onetime ally Beth.
Likewise, the often tense relationship with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), the Harvard-educated Broken Rock tribe chairman who wants to buy back ancestral lands owned by Dutton, heats up.
Much of the rest of the trailer is a sizzle reel of expected emotional drama – fighting, tantrums, kissing, a possible arson and country dancing. It ends with a big John Dutton hug for troubled rancher Lloyd Pierce (Forrie J. Smith) who was seriously at risk of falling out with the family last season.
Everything else is a big mystery. As Smith told a Houston TV station, “Everybody’s gonna be going, ‘What the hell?’ ”
What shows are ‘Yellowstone’ spinoffs
“Yellowstone” plans four spinoff shows, including the prequel series “1883” and “1923.”
h The “Yellowstone” origin story limited series “1883,” which ended in February, starred husband and wife team Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as James and Margaret Dutton, the first Duttons to settle in Montana, and Sam Elliott as their guide Shea Brennan.
h Sheridan’s “1923” is set to debut in December on Paramount+ and will follow
an earlier generation with Helen Mirren as family matriarch Cara Dutton, who’s married to Yellowstone ranch patriarch Jacob Dutton, played by Harrison Ford. The duo plays the brother and sister-inlaw to Tim McGraw’s James Dutton from “1883,” on the Yellowstone ranch as the area deals with The Great Depression, Prohibition and a historic drought.
Paramount turned a planned second “1883” series into a new limited “Bass Reeves,” starring David Oyelowo as the legendary lawman. Reeves was the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi. There is no official release date.
h An additional Sheridan “Yellowstone” spinoff, “6666,” takes place on Texas’ legendary 6666 Ranch. There is no scheduled release date.
How to watch Season 5
“Yellowstone” Season 5 premieres Nov. 13 (8 EST/PST) with a two-hour episode on the Paramount Network and the Paramount Network app, available to pay-TV subscribers. Past-season episodes of “Yellowstone” are only available with a subscription to Peacock Premium.
Viewers can also purchase earlier “Yellowstone” episodes on Amazon and Vudu ($2.99 each) or by the complete season ($19.99 each).
Has ‘Yellowstone’ won awards?
The Season 4 premiere averaged 14.7 million viewers last November, according to Nielsen. The drama garnered a SAG Awards ensemble drama acting nomination in February, but HBO’s “Succession” took the award.
Season 4 earned no Emmy nominations this year. The first three seasons earned one Emmy nomination for production design.