John Dutton takes the reins of government in Season 5 on ‘Yellowstone’
It’s a brave, explosive new world for
John Dutton and the Duttons in Season
5 of “Yellowstone” as the family patriarch ascends to the highest office in Montana.
Kicking off with two episodes on Sunday, Nov. 13, the new round picks up with John (Kevin Costner) taking the oath of office as the state’s governor, firing everyone and installing daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) as his chief of staff. If the trailer is any indication, there will be plenty of dirty dealings to follow. As usual.
Beyond that, few other details were available from the notoriously secretive series, save for the returns of cast regulars Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton), Cole
Hauser (Rip Wheeler), Wes Bentley (Jamie Dutton), Kelsey Asbille (Monica Dutton) and Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), with Wendy Moniz (now-former Gov. Lynelle Perry) and Jen Landon (Teeter) becoming series regulars. Jacki Weaver (Caroline Warner) also returns.
“Yellowstone” represents a rarity these days – a Western that is a hit with critics and must-see TV with viewers. It joins a laundry list of other series that were popular back when the genre was a staple of prime time. Such as the following.
“Bonanza” (1959-73, NBC): TV’s secondlongest-running Western starred Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, who with sons Adam, Hoss and Little Joe (Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon) operated a ranch in a silver-rich mining town in 1860s Nevada. Unlike other Westerns of its time, “Bonanza” didn’t rely so much on shootouts as it did the relationships among the principals and the characters played by weekly guest stars for its stories. It was also among the first series to be broadcast in color.
“Little House on the Prairie” (1974-83, NBC): Michael Landon followed up his “Bonanza” stint with this family-oriented drama, which cast him as Charles Ingalls, the patriarch of a farm family facing hard times in late-1800s Minnesota. A lot happened in the nine seasons – storylines evolved, cast came and went, including Landon, whose departure after Season 8 more or less heralded the end.
“Deadwood” (2004-06, HBO): It may have run for only three seasons and 36 episodes, but creator David Milch’s drama about the characters in a corrupt and crimeridden 1870s South Dakota town certainly made its mark with viewers and Emmy voters, bagging 28 nominations and eight wins. And though he never took home a statuette, Ian McShane made amoral saloon owner Al Swearengen one of television’s most memorable antiheroes.