Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: taylor sheridan, yellowstone

Yellowstone Finale Not Impacted by John Dutton's Absence: Kelly Reilly

Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly revealed that the absence of Kevin Costner's John Dutton didn't have an impact on the series' planned ending.

With only a little more than a month to go until the long-awaited return of Taylor Sheridan and John Linson's Yellowstone, there are a whole lot of questions to be answered. Is this really the end, or will Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton) and Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) lead the series into the future? How will Kevin Costner's John Dutton be handled now that we know Costner didn't return for the final episodes? How much did Costner's departure impact the potential series finale? Well, it looks like Reilly can answer that last question – not at all, and Reilly would know, considering she's known how the series would end since Sheridan shared it with her during the first season. "The absence was part of the ending. That's not something that we had to pivot, that was already written into the tapestry of the story. It was always going to happen; it just happened a little bit differently," Reilly shared with Entertainment Weekly.

With the series set to return on Sunday, November 10th, to Paramount Network (8-9 pm ET), CBS viewers will also get a chance to check out the opening episode later that same night (from 10-11 pm ET). Here's how CBS's lineup is looking for that night:

7-7:30 pm ET – "NFL on CBS"

7:30-9 pm ET/7:00-8:30 pm PT – "60 Minutes"

9-10 pm ET/8:30-9:30 pm PT – "Tracker"

10-11 pm ET/9:30-10:30 pm PT – "Yellowstone" Season 5 Part 2 Premiere (exact timing depends on NFL broadcast)

Here's a look back at the date announcement and "Generations" teasers that were released over the summer:

Yellowstone: Kevin Costner Offered His Perspective

During a recent interview for GQ's Summer Issue in support of his film Horizon: An American Saga, Costner pointed at the Paramount Network series' in-flux production schedule as the reason he wasn't available – with Costner noting that the constant changes conflicted with his ability to produce his film. "We very rarely started when we said we would, and we didn't finish when we said we would," Costner shared, also including the pandemic and SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes as reasons for the delays. "And I was OK with that. I really was. I was OK with it, but it wasn't a trend that could continue for me," he noted – adding later in the interview that he even offered to come in "a week before I start" filming "Horizon" to film a death scene if that was the route Sheridan and the others were going.

"The scripts never came. They still haven't shot it, as far as I know. The scripts never came. And so then, at one point, they said to me that we don't have an ending or anything," Costner shared with GQ. I said, 'Well if you want to kill me if you want to do something like that,' I said, 'I have a week before I start. I'll do what you want to do,'" he added. For their part, Paramount Network took issue with Costner's accounting of events – releasing a statement to GQ: "Kevin has been a big part of 'Yellowstone's' success. While we had hoped that we would continue working with him, unfortunately, we could not find a window that worked for him, all the other talent and our production needs in order to move forward together. We respect that Kevin has prioritized his new film series, and we wish him the best."

With a caption that read, "An update for you guys. I'll see you at the movies," Costner finally shared in June, "I want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on 'Horizon' and doing all the things that's required, and thinking about 'Yellowstone,' that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I'm not going to be able to continue season five B or into the future." Costner continued, "It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won't be returning, and I love the relationship we've been able to develop, and I'll see you at the movies."

Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount Network's Yellowstone is executive-produced by Sheridan, Linson, Costner, Art Linson, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, Stephen Kay, Michael Friedman, Christina Voros, and Keith Cox.

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