Paramount Denies Report That It Will End Current 'Yellowstone' Series with Kevin Costner, Reboot It With Matthew McConaughey

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Paramount Network's "Yellowstone"
(Image credit: Paramount Network)

In what appears to be a negotiating impasse with series star Kevin Costner, Paramount issued a staunch denial of a Deadline report that it plans to end its mega-hit modern Western show Yellowstone and launch a spinoff starring Matthew McConaughey.

“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," Paramount 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." 

With the show currently in production on the back half of season 5, the Penske Showbiz Trade Conglomerate publication reported that creator Taylor Sheridan and his producing team have become impatient with star Kevin Costner's shooting schedule demands. 

With his own film projects said to be competing for his time, Costner, who plays patriarch John Dutton on Sheridan's flagship series, is said to have originally agreed to committing 65 days to shooting the eight front end episodes of Yellowstone: Season 5, but then demanded that the limit be brought down to 50 days. 

Also read: Paramount Orders a Second Season of '1923,' the Latest 'Unrelentingly Grim' Expansion to Taylor Sheridan's 'Yellowstone' Universe

For the six remaining season 5 episodes that are currently in production, Costner only wanted to commit to being on set for a week, Deadline reported. 

The producers are said to currently be in negotiations with McConaughey ... with whom, Paramount even admitted, it would love to partner up with. 

Launched on the Paramount Network in 2018, Yellowstone has grown into a ratings powerhouse and now serves as the hub on a growing wheel of spinoff shows, including recently launched hits 1883 and 1923

Sheridan's empire, meanwhile, has expanded into other realms of star-powered macho melodrama with Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King

Sheridan's Yellowstone spinoffs debut on Paramount Network and other Paramount pay TV channels before streaming on Paramount Plus. 

Notably, however, Paramount sold exclusive domestic streaming rights to Yellowstone to NBCUniversal and Peacock. So rebooting the modern, forward-looking component of the YCU (Yellowstone Creative Universe?) would enable Par to maintain the entire narrative on Paramount Plus. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!