For one, the contract between showrunner Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Global and Paramount Network is coming to an end and should take on a new form. On the other hand, the Duton saga could continue in the form of a spin-off series headed by Matthew McConaughey, who would be joined by part of the cast from the original series.
It's getting tense within the cast
Deadline points out that the main reason for this huge upheaval would be linked to Kevin Costner. The 66-year-old star would disagree with the production regarding his number of shooting days, which initially counted 65 per half season, before the actor refused to exceed 50 days on season 5, currently filming. And for the second part of the season, the actor would not want to spend more than a week on the set because busy shooting his multi-part western, Horizon, for Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line. New demands that are a source of frustration for Taylor Sheridan and have created some tension with the other cast members.
Concept stronger than the star
Paramount, for example, has just refused Costner's latest proposal and negotiations with Matthew McConaughey are well advanced. It therefore smells very strongly of sulfur for the current form of Yellowstone (click for the test of season 4, broadcast on Salto). The series could then end with the second half of Season 5, before the new Yellowstone series takes over.
The successes of derivative series imagined by Sheridan (1883 and 1923) made it possible to show that the concept of the series was stronger than its star, and could function without it. Note that 1923 with Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford will be available on April 2 on Paramount+ in France.
