Yellowstone fans finally have some concrete news about the beloved show’s final episodes. In a post to social media, Yellowstone star Forrie J. Smith confirms that the iconic modern Western has begun filming the much-anticipated second half of Season 5.
Is Yellowstone Filming Season 5 in 2024?
Smith plays trusted lead ranch hand and cowboy Lloyd on Yellowstone, and he turned to Instagram on Friday (May 17), addressing fans in a video in which he revealed that filming is underway.
“Hey, y’all, you know I’m back in Montana, finishing up Yellowstone here,” he stated. “I’m blessed with that.”
Smith is a real-life rodeo rider and cowboy, and he went on to invite fans to join him at a fundraiser at a ranch in Helen, Mont., that weekend.
Smith shared no further details about the second half of Yellowstone‘s Season 5, which has been delayed for a year amid scheduling conflicts with series creator Taylor Sheridan’s long list of other shows. Those include 1923 and more upcoming Yellowstone prequels, as well as multiple other projects.
The various strikes in Hollywood also impacted Yellowstone‘s shooting schedule.
When Will the Final Episodes of Yellowstone Air?
Paramount has announced that the final episodes of Yellowstone will begin airing in November of 2024.
Variety reports that the second half of Season 5 will consist of six new episodes.
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Is Kevin Costner Returning to Yellowstone?
It’s not clear if Kevin Costner will return for any of the final episodes to wrap his character, Dutton patriarch John Dutton. Costner engaged in a very public standoff with producers and the network over the shooting schedule for the second half of Season 5, which he claimed kept getting moved to accommodate Sheridan’s other projects, conflicting with time Costner has set aside to film his own four-part epic Western, Horizon: An American Saga.
Costner revealed at one point that he was no longer under contract to the show, and Sheridan said publicly that he was working around Costner’s absence. However, the lawsuit Costner alluded to over his pay-or-play deal for future seasons has not come to pass, and Costner has said publicly that he’d still like to work things out, leading to speculation that he will return to wrap his character.
A new Yellowstone sequel will reportedly follow the end of the series, with Matthew McConaughey rumored to star. His participation is also unconfirmed.
