No, despite the show's incredibly plausible storylines, none of the characters are based on real life.
Even though John Dutton isn't real, it's safe to say that many other landowners have had similar conflicts with developers over the years. However, Kevin Costner acknowledged that, in order to give the character a true backstory, he spent a lot of time researching American history relevant to the role. The show is being produced at Chief Joseph Ranch, a legitimate and active ranch in Montana. Whenever possible, the actors themselves used horses and other animals to keep the scenes realistic.
Taylor Sheridan began working on the Yellowstone series in 2013, which was after he quit acting. Sheridan chose Montana to shoot the series as he had prior experience living in rural areas of America. Initially, Taylor tried to convince HBO to carry the series, but HBO refused, and in 2017, Paramount Network gave it a go.
The series was set to be written, directed, and executive-produced by Sheridan. John Linson, Art Linson, Harvey Weinstein, and David Glasser were also supposed to serve as executive producers. Linson Entertainment and The Weinstein Company were slated to be the production companies working on the series.
What is Yellowstone?
The neo-western drama Yellowstone, which debuted on June 20, 2018 on the Paramount Network, was created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Gil Birmingham are the series' main actors. A big cattle ranch, an Indian reservation, and land developers share borders, and the conflicts along those borders are the focus of the episodes of the series.
It was revealed in May 2017 that John Dutton, the series' star, would be played by Kevin Costner. Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, and Cole Hauser were said to have joined the main cast in June 2017. The main role had been cast for Kelsey Asbille; it was revealed in July 2017. Dave Annable, Gil Birmingham, and Jefferson White were announced as new cast members in August 2017, along with Wendy Moniz, Gretchen Mol, Jill Hennessy, Patrick St. Esprit, Ian Bohen, Denim Richards, and Golden Brooks, who would be appearing on a regular basis.
The U.S. streaming rights to Yellowstone were purchased by NBCUniversal's Peacock in 2020, with the first two seasons premiering in July of that year. The timing of the deal has since been referred to as "unfortunate" by Paramount Global President and CEO Bob Bakish due to the show's improved reception, viewership, and popularity in its later seasons.
Critics have pointed out that Yellowstone's absence from Paramount's own similarly named streaming service, Paramount+, in addition to the current seasons being available on Paramount Network's apps and website primarily through TV Everywhere, thus requiring a cable subscription, have confused viewers and the show's supporters on social media.
Are there any similarities between Yellowstone and other TV shows or movies?
It does share some similarities with HBO’s Succession and The Godfather, as some fans have previously suggested, but a story is a story.
The basic plot of the series is: a dictatorial father displays his vast wealth for all to see. His four children bicker and hurt each other's feelings. A business-savvy daughter who is the father's favorite (though he would never admit it) and the family's youngest son, who is kind of a blunder but also clearly going to take over the family business at the end of the day, are among them. The eldest son often tries to impress the father, and the second son offers little. An unlikely comedic pair is formed by the daughter's love interest and a gangly goofball who is unconnected to the rest of the family. The family is surrounded on all sides by people who want to dismantle and eat its empire in its entirety. Also, they fight with the government a lot of the time.
According to some fan theories, that sounds like an exact description of HBO’s Succession, but the Kevin Costner-starring primetime soap Yellowstone is noticeably more popular in terms of viewers. Yellowstone takes place on a sizable ranch in the middle of Montana, in contrast to Succession, which is set against the backdrop of the New York media industry.
Some Yellowstone fans have noted how similar The Godfather and Succession's set-ups are to the show's overall set-up, and it's possible that this particular set-up of siblings is simply catnip to American audiences. Even so, there is a lot of logic in the similarities between The Godfather and Yellowstone since murder is a recurring theme in Yellowstone but not in Succession. The characters frequently kill people to get their way—in fact, so frequently that in season 1, there was at least one apparent random death per episode.
How was the critical response of Yellowstone?
The show's reception from critics after its debut was uncertain. The first season received "mixed or average reviews," according to Metacritic, which weights reviews and gives it a 54 out of 100 rating based on 30 critics. The first season has a 55% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an overall rating of 5.8/10 based on 51 reviews. Yellowstone "proves too melodramatic to be taken seriously, diminishing the effects of the talented cast and beautiful backdrops," according to the website's critical consensus of the first season.
The second season received an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews, with subsequent seasons receiving much more excellent reviews. The show's third season received a 100% approval rating based on the reviews of six critics, and its fourth season received an 89% approval rating based on the reviews of nine critics.
With each new season, the series' viewership has increased. 7.6 million people watched the season 3 premiere, and 12.7 million people watched the season 4 premiere. 12.1 million people watched the season 5 premiere. The show has drawn viewers among American conservatives and has been referred to as a "red state" and "heartland drama", terms Sheridan himself disputes.
FAQs
Q. Where is the Yellowstone ranch located in the series?
A. The ranch is located in Park County, Montana, somewhere east of Bozeman.
Q. Where was the show Yellowstone filmed?
A. The show's filming takes place in Chief Joseph Ranch, Montana, and Utah.
Q. What is the net worth of Kevin Costner?
A. The net worth of Kevin Costner is estimated to be $250 million as of 2022.
