STACK #216 October 2022

FEATURE TV

SEASON 5 As season four of Yellowstone is poised to fly off the shelves, the series’ creators have already begun teasing the forthcoming fifth season. While remaining tight-lipped about the plot, producer David C. Glasser recently confirmed that big changes are afoot and characters thought to be forgotten would be returning, as well as the story taking a major time jump and circumstances being drastically different for the Duttons.

Yellowstone , the gritty neo-Western series starring Kevin Costner as a wealthy Montana rancher fending off the inevitable encroachment of development on his land, is must-seeTV. Words Glenn Cochrane THE DUTTON DYNASTY

whose cunning rivals that of Beth Dutton, and when horns are locked, the scene is set for one of the biggest battles that the Dutton Ranch has ever seen. Fans of Yellowstone , both old and new, have even more to look forward to, with the series further evolving into a successful franchise. Now available is the first season of the celebrated spin-off 1883 , which chronicles the perilous journey of the original Dutton family who trekked across the rugged mountain ranges and untamed plains to reach Yellowstone. The series stars Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, with cameo appearances from the likes of Tom Hanks, Billy Bob Thornton and Rita Wilson. And if that’s not enough, two more spin off series are currently in development. The upcoming 1923 will focus on another generation of the Dutton family during the time of early western expansion and prohibition. The series will star Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, who previously played husband and wife in Peter Weir’s The Mosquito Coast (1986). Following that will be 6666 , a contemporary spin-off series that will chronicle the goings on and workings of the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, as depicted in season four of Yellowstone . In fact, as viewers will discover, the Four Sixes Ranch was introduced as a backdoor pilot, suggesting the crossover of shows to be a cleverly conceived and legitimate exploration of Yellowstone ’s broader landscape.

I f you’re late to the party, there’s never been a better time to discover Yellowstone . With a synopsis that reads like a modern day Dallas , the series is as violent and salacious as it is compelling, and with an assortment of

were introduced, the film was expanded into a series and Costner was in it for the long haul. As luck would have it, Yellowstone was a bona fide hit, in part thanks to its Montana setting and representation of communities often excluded from the national conversation (both indigenous and conservative).

wild and eccentric characters strewn throughout, it ranks amongst the all time best TV dramas. Created by Taylor Sheridan, the prolific writer of Sicario (2015) and Hell or High Water (2016), Yellowstone was originally conceived as a film, which is how Kevin Costner came to be involved. Committing to the project as a feature, Costner was hoping to recapture the previous success of his westerns Dances with Wolves (1990) and Open Range (2003), but as the story evolved and new characters

Add the enticement of violence, murder, political jousting, family entanglement and the cowboy lifestyle, and you have a darn good reason to binge the heck out of it. Season four arrives on home entertainment formats this month and the Dutton family return with war on their minds. Following the events of the first three seasons (which for the sake of newcomers won’t be revealed here), Costner is back as John

• Yellowstone: Season 4 is out on Oct 12

Dutton, ready to unleash hell upon his rivals. Also returning is his clan, including loyal son Kayce, (Luke Grimes), his conniving daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly), and his treasonous son Jamie (Wes Bentley). And, of course, series favourite Cole Hauser is back as the ever-loyal ranch foreman, Rip. An exciting new development in the fourth season is the introduction of Caroline Warner, the ruthless CEO of a market equities firm who’s played by Australia’s own Jacki Weaver. She's a merciless character

DON'T MISS!

Kevin Costner with Finn Little

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