Yellowstone may lose its most beloved characters after Season 5

Yellowstone is in danger of losing its most beloved characters after Season 5, with an “ugly” standoff over pay putting a new spinoff in jeopardy. “Just tell me who to fight.”

Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western series is the number one show on television. Netflix may be capable of fetching eye-watering viewership, but in terms of cultural presence among ordinary viewers – especially in the US – Yellowstone exists in its own league.

However, the series has been plagued by behind-the-scenes turmoil since the fifth season premiered early last year. The strikes were one thing, but all eyes have been on the drama between Sheridan and Kevin Costner, the show’s mainstay patriarch who may not even return for the closing stretch.

Now, three more Duttons are at risk of being taken to the train station, with a dispute over pay endangering their roles in the spinoff that’ll take Yellowstone’s place after Season 5.

Yellowstone may lose Beth Dutton & Rip Wheeler after Season 5

Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton), Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler), and Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton) may not return for the planned Matthew McConaughey spinoff after Yellowstone Season 5.

Production on the final episodes is set to kick off in April, and there’s still uncertainty over whether or not Costner will reprise his role one last time to round out his tenure on the ranch. However, one thing is certain: Yellowstone is ending, and plans for the next chapter of the franchise are underway.

While Reilly, Hauser, and Grimes weren’t originally considered for the spinoff, Sheridan now wants to incorporate them as a bridge from the flagship series to the new story. But, according to the newest Puck report, the stars are locked in a “financial standoff” over demands for “massive” pay increases.

Paramount

“Reilly, in particular, initially asked for a whopping $1.5 million an episode, according to two sources, at or above the very top tier of TV stars, though in recent communications that number has come down to $1.2 million an episode,” the report reads.

Hauser has reportedly asked for $1.25 million per episode, a sizeable increase from his current $700,000 salary, as well as the duo asking for “first position in the call sheet” above McConaughey and Michelle Pfeiffer.

There’s an extra complication: they have a pay-or-play clause in their contract, meaning they’re owed money for Season 6, even though it’s not happening. Paramount has reportedly offered to repurpose that money for their pay increases, but the actors have argued that it’s essentially “paying them with their own money.”

None of the stars have commented on the Yellowstone spinoff, nor has Paramount spoken out about the pay dispute.