Yellowstone Resumes Production: Final Episodes Underway in Montana

Paramount Network announced on Monday that Yellowstone has resumed production. Filming for the Western hit’s final season five episodes is now underway in Montana.

Although the start of production was later than initially planned, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios still expect the drama to return in November, as previously announced last year.

However, there was no update on the show’s cast or whether star Kevin Costner will make an appearance in the final episodes, which are expected to wrap up the series.

Yellowstone last aired an episode more than a year ago, in January 2023, when Paramount Network decided to split the season into two parts. Discussions of infighting over scheduling and script delays between Costner and showrunner Taylor Sheridan persisted for many months, with Costner also focusing on his upcoming Western epic Horizon: An American Saga. The cast and crew had initially planned to resume filming in March 2023 with an announced summer premiere date, but those dates came and went.

Costner recently expressed his desire to return to the show to finish his character’s story. “I’d like to be able to do it, but we haven’t been able to… I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”

However, with scripts complete and filming underway, it seems increasingly unlikely that Costner will be involved at this stage.

The show had gone on hiatus on a cliffhanger: Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) had just thrown down the gauntlet against his sister Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and father John Dutton (Costner) in a move that would usher in an all-out war between the embittered family members.

An official episode count has yet to be revealed by the network. Sheridan previously mentioned he might create more than the initially reported six final episodes. “If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” Sheridan said. “It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”