‘Yellowstone’ Stars Have Perfect Reaction to Repeated Awards Show Snubs

Yellowstone is arguably the most popular show on cable television at the moment. The show’s fifth season is set to premiere in a two-hour episode that seems poised to keep the foot on the pedal.

Still, despite its success on Paramount Network, its spinoffs on Paramount+, and critical acclaim for creator Taylor Sheridan, the show cannot find awards love. Some want to point at the show as a “red state” version of Game of Thrones, while also saying it is anti-woke. But this notion is far from the case and not the concern of the actors on the show.

According to The Daily Mail, the stars spoke out during the red carpet premiere of season 5, giving some reserved takes at one end while discounting the meaning of awards victories at the other end.

“I personally don’t think awards validate anything,” Wes Bentley, who plays James Dutton on the series, said. “It’s an honor, as they say, but as far as it saying whether we are doing something good or not, that’s not what that is.

“Many many shows don’t get that recognition that deserve it and many do get it that don’t deserve it. It’s just the matter of opinion of each particular academy,” Bentley continued. “I know we are a success because the people are watching it. The conversation I have with fans are so much deeper than the usual.”

Co-star Gil Birmingham, who plays Thomas Rainwater, agreed with Bentley and called Hollywood “a fickle beast” and explained what is more important to him with the series. “Hollywood is a fickle beast. I think that it’s more important that we have captured the hearts and minds of the audience and our fans,” he said. “Westerns are not a genre that, historically speaking, typically gets rewarded.”

Birmingham is a longtime collaborator with Sheridan. He has a memorable co-starring role with Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water, a grieving Native father in Wind River, and is likely best known to fans as Billy Black from the Twilight films.

No matter how the awards view the series and its offspring, Yellowstone is a hit for audiences. Season five premieres on Nov. 13 on Paramount Network, dropping the first half of the season and following with the back installment of seven episodes in 2023.