'Yellowstone' Star Wes Bentley Updates on Behind-The-Scenes Drama and Future of Series
Yellowstone star Wes Bentley is confident all the drama behind the scenes will be ironed out soon so the rest of Season 5 can be completed. In recent weeks, the most watched scripted drama on television has been the target of wild speculation following reports that Yellowstone might be ending soon. Star Kevin Costner reportedly asked to be less involved, which has made it difficult for writer Taylor Sheridan.
"The news that's come out recently about the show is, you know, it's above my pay grade. Different people making decisions," Bentley, who plays Jamie Dutton, told Entertainment Weekly at SCAD TV Fest in an interview published on Feb. 25. "I know that they're still working on... working things out with everyone, to make sure we shoot. And I'm confident we will. We always have before. I think it's probably a bit of drama over nothing."
Bentley is focused on doing his job, which involves bringing Jamie's troubled relationship with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) to life on the small screen. He also does not want to see Yellowstone end anytime soon.
"I wait for that next script and within the same kind of anticipation or fans do for the next episode to be aired because, you know, Taylor [Sheridan] surprises us so much," Bentley told EW. "And I'm so interested in everyone. I'm so invested in more than just Jamie. I'm invested in the whole thing now. We all talk about it on set, you know, all the possibilities. We do our own fanfiction."
Sources told Deadline on Feb. 6 that Sheridan, Paramount Global, and Paramount Network were considering ending Yellowstone and moving on to another Dutton family series potentially starring Matthew McConaughey. It was reported that Costner, who plays Dutton family patriarch John Dutton, wanted to schedule fewer shooting days so he could focus on his multi-part Western film series Horizon.
"We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that's the case for a long time to come," a Paramount Network spokesperson said. "Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we'd love to partner."
Last week, there was another report on the situation from Puck News, which reported that Costner offered to work just one week on Season 5B. Costner's litigator Marty Singer told the outlet this was completely false.
"The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie," Singer said. "It's ridiculous – and anyone suggesting it shouldn't be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success."
During another interview during SCAD TV Fest, Bentley admitted to thinking about when John Dutton dies. "I thought about this in Season 1... because it's always a possibility in TV, right?" Bentley told TVLine. "We're always ready to die... [And John] really has got this hypnotic pull on Jamie."
The rest of Yellowstone Season 5 is set to air later this year. The first four seasons are available to stream on Peacock. Meanwhile, the prequel shows 1883 and 1923 are streaming on Paramount+.