30 Fun Facts About Yellowstone You Might Not Know

The simple fact that Dutton ended the season in a position of power makes the future incredibly worrisome. The higher the Duttons rise, the further they have to fall, and after Kayce (Luke Grimes) gets some concerning visions we know something is going to happen. As he tells his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille), he saw “the end of us,” which couldn’t have seemed more ominous.

Clearly, Season 5 is coming down to more viewers than ever before. While the wait for the three upcoming spinoffs is excruciating, there’s always a lot to talk about when it comes to the Yellowstone universe. In fact, there are at least 30 fun things to talk about, because we’ve compiled 30 fun facts about the series, its stars, and its breathtaking settings to help tide you over until the show returns to Paramount Network on November 13. Could.

 

The Farm is Real

Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is a real place called the Chief Joseph Ranch, located in Darby, Montana. It is named after the Nez Perce chief who led his people across the country in 1877, and it was run by a glass tycoon and federal judge until it became a guest ranch, Glass Tycoon Run by his wife and daughters.

And You Can Stay There

You can rent cabins on the real Yellowstone Ranch, and if you’re renting a cabin you can only tour the set and the ranch. The two cabins available to stay are Lee’s Cabin, which becomes John’s Cabin in Season 2, and Rip’s Cabin. They cost, at least, $1200 per night.

A Log Cabin Dream

Although you cannot rent a lodge house, it is also very real. The log mansion is 6,000 square feet and was completed in 1920, and according to a 1993 New York Times article, a 42-pound pet bobcat used to take naps near the fireplace. Beginning in 1987, the home was owned and renovated by Melvin Purves, a nuclear systems controls engineer and member of the Chippewa Tribe.

 

It’s All Filmed In Montana Now

Filming locations originally included stages in Park City, Utah, but in 2020, all filming was moved to Montana. All new stages were built in Missoula, with filming also taking place in Hamilton and on nearby farmland.

Nothing to Do With the Park

Yellowstone doesn’t actually happen in Yellowstone National Park, but the real ranch is nearby, or as close as you can get. The park covers 3,472 square miles, and is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. It takes a few hours to drive from Chief Joseph Ranch to the park, but there’s nothing like it in Montana.

No One Else Could Play Rip

Many of the show’s biggest roles were written for its actors. Cole Hauser and Gil Birmingham were the only actors Sheridan had in mind for Rip and Thomas. And while the role of John was not written for Kevin Costner, he became a key part of making the show successful as soon as Costner read the script.

Cowboys On and Off Screen

Several members of the cast are real-life cowboys. In addition to creator Taylor Sheridan, bunkhouse residents Jake Ream, Ryan Bingham, and Ethan Lee all have real farm experience, while Forry J. Smith is as cowboy as you can get in Hollywood. Reem also taught other artists how to ride horses.

Kelly Reilly Can Really Ride

According to Sheridan, Kelly Reilly is the best rider in the cast, even though Beth rarely rides a horse on screen. Sheridan also says that Beth is the most difficult character on the show and that writing for her is her favorite.

Actors Learn From Cowboy Camp

Before any of Sheridan’s Yellowstone shows begin filming, the actors get a chance to attend cowboy camp. They learn to ride horses from real cowboys, get to know their horses, and get immersed in the world of ranching so there’s no doubt that the Duttons know what they’re doing when it comes to running a ranch.

But Not Everyone’s a Natural

Jefferson White, who plays troubled ranch hand Jimmy, grew up in New York and had barely even seen a horse before arriving on set. Most of his rodeo scenes involve the use of a stunt double, and for close-ups he rides a mechanical horse.

The Realest Cowboy Of Them All

Fourie J. Smith was born to two cattlemen, and was competing in rodeos by the time he was 8, and riding bareback by age 11. After falling from a horse at the age of 6, he decided he wanted to become a stuntman, and he began working in Hollywood in the 80s. He has his own ranch in New Mexico and spends as much time as possible there. His son Forrest also appears in Yellowstone as a younger version of Lloyd, and Lloyd’s bunk is filled with actual memorabilia from Smith’s rodeo days.

Taylor Sheridan Writes It All

Sheridan has writing credits on every single episode of Yellowstone and 1883, and was only a co-writer on the pilot and much of the second season. He will also usually write an episode in a matter of hours. This is all very unusual for a major television show lasting four seasons, but you won’t find the Yellowstone stars complaining about the writing.

Reactions to Indigenous Characters Have Been Mixed

The series’ portrayal of Native Americans has drawn mixed reactions. Kelsey Asbill, who played Monica, claimed to be part Cherokee, but the Cherokee Tribe released a statement saying they had no record of her. Gil Birmingham, who plays Chief Thomas Rainwater, is of Comanche descent and, like his character, grew up believing he was Mexican. He says this is a common story for many Native people, and he praised Sheridan’s “sensitivity to the Native aspect” of the show.

Gil Birmingham Was Once a Bodybuilder

Before becoming an actor at the age of 30, Gil Birmingham was also a petrochemical engineer and bodybuilder. He appeared in the music video for Diana Ross’ song “Muscles”.

Dave Annable Has Regrets

Dave Annable, who played Dutton’s eldest son Lee, knew from the beginning that his character was going to die in the first episode. He initially turned down the role due to scheduling reasons, but Sheridan called and asked if he was “stupid”. Once he arrived at Sheridan’s traditional cowboy camp before each Western production, he was sad that his character would have to die, but he had a hell of a way out. She told THR, “It was like my second day at work when I died. I was lying across Kevin Costner’s waist and he was caressing my hair and kissing my forehead, and [I] Was listening to this beautiful performance.” , “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s Kevin Costner right now.’ I was so surprised. It was really amazing.”

Kelly Reilly Is a Shakespearean Actress

Although it’s hard to imagine a Dutton living anywhere other than a farm in Montana, Kelly Reilly is actually an English actress who was nominated for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in 2009 for her dramatic talents in several productions, including Othello. Was. She’s an award-nominated Shakespearean actress, who is apparently absolutely excellent at diction. But is anyone surprised that Beth is incredible off-screen as well as on-screen?

Doing It For the Brand

On the Dutton ranch, both cows and cowboys are branded with the Yellowstone Dutton logo. This is not typical for real-life ranchers, but on Yellowstone, it signifies a ranch hand’s loyalty to the Duttons, and the ranch’s loyalty in return. This is especially important considering how most of the ranch hands have committed crimes on behalf of the ranch, so it’s sort of like mutually assured destruction. If the ranch goes down, they go down with it. And if they abuse that loyalty…let’s just say there are ways of removing that Y.

Kevin Costner Sure Does Love a Western

Kevin Costner didn’t grow up on a farm, but he has been inspired by the Western genre ever since he watched How the West Was Won as a child. He also played a cowboy in Wyatt Earp, Open Range, Hatfields and McCoys, and is about to direct a series of Western films called Horizon.

The Horses All Have Incredible Names

Most of the horses used in the show are owned by Taylor Sheridan. On-screen he has names like Ray, Owen and Lucky. In real life, their names are Dun It Czechnik and Walla Walla Starbuck.

And Some of the Horses Are Famous

The show also features several horses that are not owned by Sheridan but who are current rodeo champions. Those famous horses include Metallic Cat, Metallic Memory (son of Metallic Cat), Spookernikerin, Lil Joe Cash, High-Class Trash, Custom Made Gun, Smartly Starstruck and Nineteen Ten.

Piper Perabo Was No Yellowstone Newbie

Piper Perabo joined the series as a new character in Season 4, but Yellowstone has been a family affair for her since Season 2. That’s when her husband Stephen Kay began directing episodes. Kay has directed every season finale since Season 2, and every season premiere since Season 3, including the Season 5 premiere.

Yellowstone Is #1

If you don’t count Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football, Yellowstone is the most watched TV show on basic cable. Strangely, Monday Night Football rates are lower than Yellowstone, and the next most watched scripted show is NCIS.

The Show Has Only Become More Popular

Viewership has increased with each season of Yellowstone, and the season 4 finale was watched by 10.3 million live and same-day viewers, making it the most-watched cable TV show since the season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead. The episode was made. For comparison, the Season 1 finale had less than 3 million people tuned in.

Yellowstone Has No Actual Plot

Sheridan has described the show as “plotless”. “It’s basically, I’ve got a lot of stinking land and a lot of people want to take it,” he told Deadline. “You can drop this show to Spain, Eastern Europe or anywhere in North Africa, and someone is experiencing a somewhat similar situation.” He says he wanted to depict the life of a modern cowboy because “it’s never been done right.”

Yellowstone Could Have Been on HBO

Originally, Yellowstone was only going to be a 10-episode miniseries, and at one point it was going to be on HBO. According to Sheridan, he wrote two scripts before sitting down with a senior VP at HBO who told him, “Nobody wants to see it.”

It’s a Spinoff Bonanza

The success of Yellowstone has spawned four spinoffs: 1883, premiering in late 2021, and the upcoming 1923, 6666, and 1883: The Bess Reeves Story. The spinoff brings huge new stars to the Yellowstone universe, including Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and David Oyelowo.

Taylor Sheridan Pulls Double Duty

Taylor Sheridan began his career as an actor with small roles in Veronica Mars and Walker, Texas Ranger. His most prominent role was as David Hale in Sons of Anarchy. He has now moved primarily into screenwriting and directing, although he still appears in some of his own shows. In Yellowstone, he plays a horse trader named Travis – a big acting challenge for a guy named Taylor, who owns a lot of horses.

Meet the Four Sixes

In Season 4 of Yellowstone, Jimmy is sent to the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, and that ranch will be the setting for a new Yellowstone spinoff. Sheridan actually owns the farm after its last owner died in 2020, and she wanted it to be put up for sale. It was listed for $347 million, and comes with a long, rich history of producing some of the finest horses in the world.

John Dutton Rocks

Kevin Costner has a rock band called Kevin Costner and the Modern West, and in 2020 they released an album called Tales from Yellowstone. It contains songs written from John Dutton’s perspective, and some of the band’s songs are included in the show.

The End Is Coming

Sheridan hasn’t confirmed how many seasons he plans to do, but he definitely has a plan. As he told Cowboys & Indians, “I know exactly how it’s going to end and I’m working toward that end.”