“Yellowstone” is slated to return this fall with its final season — but one of its co-stars remains in the dark about what’s going on at the hit Paramount Network ranching drama.
“I’m still waiting to find out what’s happening with ‘Yellowstone,’” Lainey Wilson, who plays Abby, told Fox News ahead of the iHeartRadio Music Awards Monday night.
“I have absolutely no clue,” the country music star continued. “I did talk to [series star] Kelly Reilly [who plays Beth Dutton] the other day and, you know, we’ll see what happens.
“Once they give us the call — we’re there.”
Wilson joined “Yellowstone” in the first half of Season 5 and made her acting debut as Abby, a country music singer who performed at John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) inaugural celebration as the new governor of Montana.
It’s no surprise that Wilson has “no clue” what’s going on with the final episodes of “Yellowstone,” which will constitute the second half of Season 5.
Word of when shooting will begin has been shrouded in mystery amid ongoing drama between series star Costner — who is not currently expected to return — and series co-creator and writer Taylor Sheridan.
There was also the double-whammy WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which put filming on the back burner and pushed the season premiere from November 2023 to November 2024.
”Yellowstone,” which commands a massive cable audience, has not aired a new episode since November 2022, so it will be two years between seasons once (and if) it makes its scheduled return.
The series, set in the present day, follows the saga of the Dutton ranching family in Montana and counts among its co-stars Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes and Kelsey Asbille.
Reilly, Grimes and Hauser are also reportedly seeking raises for the show’s final season.
Bentley said in June that he would “celebrate” the show ending. “I will miss it, but I will also celebrate it being over,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s so hot and combustible right now.”
Bentley was referring to his role as Jamie Dut ton, the politically minded attorney general son of family patriarch John and brother to Kayce (Grimes) and Beth (Reilly).
But Bentley could just as easily have been referring to the drama surrounding “Yellowstone,” particularly the contretemps between Costner and Sheridan. He created the “Yellowstone” prequels “1883” and “1923” and has two more spinoffs in the works: “1944” and “2024” (both working titles).
Amid Costner’s surprise divorce, there were allegations that he refused to spend more than one week filming the second half of Season 5 — a claim that Costner’s attorney denied.
A different source claimed that Sheridan was to blame for the friction, stating that the showrunner developed a “God complex” as his star rose.
“Only Taylor truly knows what is going on,” a source told The Post. “Taylor spent years not being truly appreciated in Hollywood, and now that he’s the top of the heap, there’s definitely some ego to all of this.”
The Wall Street Journal detailed how Sheridan allegedly demanded a “ridiculous” budget for the show, some of which directly benefitted him: He rented his own cattle to Paramount at $25 a head and charged up to $50,000 a week for the show to film on ranches that he owns.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan said Costner was focused on writing, producing and starring in his own Western saga “Horizon,” which he’s been working on for 35 years, and that it was difficult for him to balance “Yellowstone” and “Horizon.”
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan told THR in June. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone.”
”But once lawyers get involved,” Sheridan continued, “then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting.
“He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him, and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”