Kevin Costner received a Golden Globe award weeks ago, his fifth in his career and second for his portrayal in a television production. However, the award is the first recognition for the TV series “Yellowstone”, which has been broadcast in the US since the summer of 2018. The Hollywood actor was nominated and awarded for his portrayal of John Dutton in the series. Last year, the cast of the series was nominated by the Screen Actors Guild, but did not win.
At the end of 2022, the series was already the most popular cable television network in the United States, but critics stubbornly ignored it, as noted by the Atlantic.
In mid-November of last year, the “Paramount” epic, now in its fifth season, reached 12.1 million viewers, setting a record for the most popular broadcast week. “Yellowstone” is broadcast on a cable network, not on the airwaves of major television stations such as CBS, NBC or ABC. The episode was broadcast by several operators.
The end of the fourth season attracted more than 11 million viewers outside of streaming platforms, which has not been achieved since 2010 by series such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. The sixth season of the HBO fantasy epic then recorded 10.61 million viewers in its first week on screen. AMC’s zombie apocalypse reached a record 14.1 million viewers per episode in its fifth season.
Paramount’s neo-western is a story about the battle for a family legacy and social and economic change in the mountains of Montana, and its audience is vastly different from the audiences of popular blockbusters Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
The series appeared on the screen in 2018, but was conceived by Taylor Sheridan back in 2013. The actor, known for his roles in “Sons of Anarchy”, “Veronica Mars”, “Walker, “Texas Ranger”, changes his position in the film industry and turns to creating the stories.He wrote the screenplay for Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, presented at Cannes in 2015.
Initially, several producers joined Sheridan’s Yellowstone project, which Paramount accepted after NVO’s refusal, including Harvey Weinstein’s company. After the scandalous revelations about sexual assaults, even before the lawsuits and convictions against the once powerful producer, “Paramount” refused to cooperate with his company on “Yellowstone”.
Hollywood actor Kevin Costner has been cast in the leading role of family patriarch John Dutton, owner of the largest ranch in the state of Montana. The series originally aired only on cable television in the United States, in 2020 it was signed to two streaming platforms in the United States.
Photo: AR/BTA
The critical evaluation of the first episodes of the neo-western was mixed, rather lukewarm. The website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 56 percent approval rating for the first season and notes that Yellowstone is too melodramatic to be taken seriously and diminishes the impact of the performances of the talented actors and the beautiful scenery it presents. On the day the final episode of the first season aired, Paramount announced that there would be a second season. Audience interest is rising gradually, and so are their ratings. The second season already has an 89 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The premiere of season three drew 7.6 million viewers to television screens, and the debuts of seasons four and five drew more than 12 million people each.
Meanwhile, Sheridan signed an eight-series deal with Paramount and methodically created the Yellowstone universe with the spinoffs 1883, 1923, Bass Reeves and 6666, BTA reports. Actors of the rank of Kelly Reilly, Tom Hanks, Sam Elliott, Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid partner in the series with casting finds such as Isabel May, Faith Hill and others.
“The King of Tulsa,” part of Sheridan’s package deal with Paramount, opens in mid-November with Sylvester Stallone in the title role, his television production debut.
Photo: AR/BTA
The “Yellowstone” universe gives a boost to the economy of the state of Montana, a study by the University of Montana found, NBC reported a few days ago. Interest in the series is responsible for a $730 million increase in revenue. The series brought 2.1 million tourists to the state in 2021, a survey by the authors of the Business and Economic Research Team and the university’s Institute for Tourism Research found.
Over 10,200 new jobs have been created in the state due to increased interest in the series.
Yellowstone was filmed primarily in Darby, Hamilton, Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley.
Cinema is an economic driver for tourism, and the “Yellowstone” series showed Montana’s ability as part of the image of the American West to draw visitors to the state, said Melissa Weddle, director of the University of Montana’s Tourism Research Institute.
“Everything from food service, hotels, rental and transportation companies to high tech and trades such as electricians and carpentry benefit from the area’s film industry activity” said Todd O’Hare, president and CEO of the Montana State Chamber of Commerce.
Photo: AR/BTA
The series also influenced fashion trends in certain areas and among certain social groups in the United States. Western-inspired clothing and accessories are gaining popularity in the urban environment, although they are more associated with the equipment of riders and cowboys – hats, boots, denim shirts.
“People want to look and live like DuttonJill Martin, co-founder of Shop the Scenes, a website that sells TV series fans authentic products related to the series, recently told the Wall Street Journal.
