For the better part of a year, fans of the hit Western drama Yellowstone have been eyeing the behind the scenes tensions between the production and actor Kevin Costner, but the show’s latest backstage drama involves an entirely different star… and coffee?
Earlier this year, Cole Hauser, who appears on the series as the fan-favorite cowboy Rip Wheeler, launched a coffee brand called Free Rein Coffee Company. Featuring ground coffee, whole beans, and coffee pods in close to a dozen roasts with names like American Dirt, Homestead, and Heavy Spur, the star crafted a brand that “embodied the spirit of the West… the dreamer’s mindset and callused hands of those cowboys [Hauser] admired,” according to Free Rein’s website.
While the company launched in early October, a lawsuit filed in late November could complicate matters. On November 21, 2023, Bosque Ranch in Texas evidently filed suit against Free Rein in the Northern District of Texas’s federal court in San Angelo for trademark infringement, citing unfair competition and false advertising. San Angelo Live reports that the suit alleges that Free Rein uses “a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers.” Both brands use a logo made of intertwined letters (BR in the case of Bosque Ranch and FR for Free Rein) which the ranch argues bear too much resemblance, potentially leading to customer confusion.
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The suit is particularly notable due to the fact that the ranch is owned by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who uses it as a filming location for the series as well as its prequels like 1883. (Sheridan also owns the 6666 ranch, which has served as a setting for some episodes of the flagship drama, and has been long-planned as the location for another spinoff.) Over the summer, the ranch launched their own branded coffee offshoot in partnership with Community Coffee.
Whether or not the new legal action will in any way impact the final episodes of Yellowstone—which are set to begin filming next spring for a November 2024 debut—is not yet clear, however with the speculation over whether Kevin Costner will appear in the remainder of the series still raging, the possibility of behind the scenes tensions with another prominent cast member is sure to have Dutton fans on edge.