‘Yellowstone’ Promotes 2 Cast Members to Season Regulars for Season 5

Yellowstone has added two new regulars to the cast for Season 5. Along with the official season order handed down from Paramount Network Thursday, the hit show promoted guest stars Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly to season regulars, meaning more screentime ahead for Landon’s tough-talking ranch hand Teeter, who joined in Season 3, and Kelly’s character Emily, who made her entrance in Season 4 as the chief vet technician for the 6666 Ranch and Jimmy Hurdstrom’s fiancée.

Also returning for Season 5 are stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham and Gil Birmingham. The fourth season of Yellowstone was a hit with fans, with the network revealing that the season premiere was watched by 14 million viewers and the finale by 15 million.

“Yellowstone‘s record-breaking performance proves we’ve tapped a cultural nerve and unleashed a passionate audience from the center of the country to each of the coasts,” said Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of ViacomCBS Media Networks, in a statement. “Kevin Costner leads our incredible cast who make the Duttons America’s favorite family and, this new season is sure to be another one fans won’t want to miss.”

“We are honored to be able to bring audiences another season of Yellowstone,” added executive producer David C. Glasser. “The continued growth in viewership and the recent recognition from the guilds bolsters our commitment to continue to bring groundbreaking entertainment to audiences.”

Yellowstone has become a megahit for Paramount Network but has yet to crack the major award shows, which co-creator Taylor Sheridan addressed in a December interview with The New York Times. “I don’t care if critics hate it and I don’t care if they like it,” he admitted. “I’m not resentful. I just simply do not care. I’m not making it for them; I’m making it for people who live that life. The audience has expanded beyond that because, you know, a lot of people love westerns.”

Sheridan theorized that one of the reasons Yellowstone has yet to reach critical acclaim is because he’s “breaking a lot of story rules.” He continued, ‘ll jump the plot ahead for no reason whatsoever except that I wanted to and it’s entertaining. The people who get it eat it up, and the people that try to look at it with a critical eye see a mess. But that’s what I love about Yellowstone, the way that it flows from being campy to melodramatic to intensely dramatic to violent. It’s every old western and new western and soap opera thrown together in a blender. And yes, I think it infuriates and confounds some people who study storytelling. They don’t understand why this thing’s such a hit.” Yellowstone‘s Season 5 premiere date has yet to be announced.