Kevin Costner Marks Anniversary of 'Hatfields & McCoys' Decade After Premiere

By Daniel S. Levine

Kevin Costner celebrated an important milestone in his career over the weekend. History Channel's Hatfields & McCoys celebrated its 10th anniversary. The limited series was Costner's first major television project in over 30 years in Hollywood. Hatfields & McCoys' success led Costner to join an even bigger television project, Yellowstone.

"Today marks a decade since the first episode of Hatfields & McCoys was released," Costner wrote on Instagram. "One of my favorite projects to have been a part of!" He included a gallery of photos from the show.

Hatfields & McCoys aired on History Channel between May 28 and May 30, 2012, and is a dramatization of the Hatfield-McCoy family feud between 1863 and 1891. Costner starred as William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield and squared off against the late Bill Paxton as Randolph "Randall" McCoy. The all-star cast also featured Powers Boothe, Tom Berenger, Mare Winningham, and Jenna Malone. Kevin Reynolds, who worked with Costner on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld, and Fandango, directed the series.

Hatfields & McCoys earned critical acclaim and was a huge hit for History. Costner and Berenger won Emmys, while the series was also nominated for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. Costner also won his first Golden Globe since Dances With Wolves. He must have loved making the series because he later joined Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone in 2018 as John Dutton. Yellowstone Season 5 debuts on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.

When Hatfields & McCoys debuted, there was a lot of press about Costner making his television debut over 30 years after he made his first movie. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Costner said his interest in American history drew him to the project. After all, some of his biggest hits, from Dances With Wolves to Wyatt Earp, are historical pieces.

"From the first page I started reading and understanding and I got lodged completely in the story," Costner said in 2012. "I was thrilled with the history of our country... Even when it borders on being embarrassing or violent or shameful, I'm still thrilled with the story of our country and the Hatfields and McCoys are part of that DNA."

Costner also told HuffPost he was interested in showing the reality behind the Hatfield & McCoys feud. "This is real history," Costner said. "People went to court, governors were almost going to war, militias were amassing at the borders. This was not a folk tale. This was as real as could get. If you had CNN back then, they would have been sitting on some hilltop watching this. This was big doings if you think about [it]."

Hatfield & McCoys is now available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock. Coincidentally, Peacock is also the streaming home for all four seasons of Yellowstone. 

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