Taylor Sheridan Has Rare Comment on 'Yellowstone' Ending, Kevin Costner Exit

Taylor Sheridan made a rare comment about why Yellowstone ended - and addressed Kevin Costner‘s messy exit.

"With Yellowstone, Kevin was only supposed to be in the first three seasons," Sheridan, 56, said during an appearance on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" show on Monday, June 29. "That was in his contract."

Sheridan had a plan for how Costner's John Dutton would have departed, adding, "In my mind, that's when his youngest son takes over and then we watch him lose that ranch or not lose it, whatever the case is gonna be."

According to the creator, there was network concern about losing Costner, 71, from the cast.

"The network was so scared of not having Kevin be a part of it," Sheridan said. "Even though Kevin was ready to go - he had other things he wanted to do - he stayed on for another two seasons and that was just because the show was such a behemoth and such a huge hit that the notion of giving up a hit before it had run of juice to squeeze is very foreign to a network."

He added: "Finally, Kevin hit a point where he said, ‘I gotta do my own thing.' But we originally conceived it together that it was three seasons and then the baton is handed … Because we had to tread water for a bit there, and I think it was pretty evident."

Yellowstone, which premiered on Paramount in 2018, followed the Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Costner's portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton reeled in viewers, but other leads including Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille kept them tuning in for five seasons - as did the offscreen drama.

Despite becoming a pop culture phenomenon, the show went out on a low note after the final season was plagued with delays and rumors about the reason for Costner's early exit (news broke in 2023 that he would not be returning and John was ultimately killed off in the season 5B premiere).

Costner previously denied that he left Yellowstone due to a feud with Sheridan. "I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it's coming from," he told Deadline in May 2024. "I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did."

Costner continued, "I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn't have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn't get 10."

Sheridan, for his part, slammed claims he was at odds with Costner.

"My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn't altered," Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. "His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I've never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn't work out on the phone."

Sheridan also slammed a report that claimed he told Costner to "stick to acting."

"I never had that conversation with Kevin," Sheridan said. "There was a time in season 2 when he was very upset and said the character wasn't going in the direction he wanted. … Kevin felt season 2 was deviating from that, and I don't know that he was wrong. In season 3, we steered back into it. And I recall him winning a Golden Globe last year for his performance, so I think it's working."

At the time, Sheridan hinted that he was now on different terms with Costner.

"Once lawyers get involved, then people don't get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren't true and attempt to shift blame," he noted. "He took a lot of this on the chin and I don't know that anyone deserves it. [Horizon] seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it - and that it's a good one."

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM.