The popular Western drama, created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, premiered in 2018. It follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the U.S. and their ongoing battle to defend their land and lifestyle against constant threats.
Tensions escalate as John’s children become embroiled in the fight: lawyer Jamie (Wes Bentley), tough-as-nails daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) and cowboy Kayce (Luke Grimes). The series explores themes of power, family loyalty, greed, and survival in the American West.
Season 5, Part 1 of Yellowstone aired from November 2022 to January 2023, with the second part of the final series set to premiere on November 10, 2024. It was announced in May 2023 that the fifth season of Yellowstone would be the last, with production being paused due to reported disputes between Sheridan and Costner, followed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
While there has been backlash from some fans who aren’t happy about Costner leaving, during a conversation with Newsweek, Grimes said this hasn’t negatively impacted the show.
“I just feel like it would be unfair of me to kind of talk about any of that because, you know, [the show] was seven years long and there’s so many things that happened that I know about and so many things that happen that I don’t know about,” he said.
“I don’t have the bird’s eye view of that whole situation, you know? All I know is what happened, happened, and the show rolled with the punches.
“We were able to finish the show and finish it in a way that I think is really gonna work for everybody, even in the midst of all that.”
Following his departure from Yellowstone, Costner took a financial risk with his project Horizon: An American Saga, which he plans to release in four parts. Chapter 1 hit theaters on June 28, while Chapter 2 followed on September 7.
Many have believed that the Western project played a role in the sudden end of the fan-favorite show. Whatever might have happened between Costner and Sheridan behind the scenes, Paramount ultimately decided to end Yellowstone in its current form following the conclusion of Season 5, Part 2—and Grimes said fans will be “satisfied” with the ending.
“I think it’ll just be very satisfying because it’s, I mean, that’s what you want. That’s what you want. And the ending of a great show is something unpredictable and satisfying,” he said.
Yellowstone is based around a working cattle ranch in Montana and through filming the series, Grimes fell in love with the landlocked state. So much so, that he and his wife eventually decided to pack up their lives in L.A. and move there.
“I was living in L.A. when I started coming up here for work. And L.A. never really felt like home to me, although it was great to me and I have no complaints. It just never felt like my home. It felt like the office. It felt like where I had to drum up some work. I spoke to my wife and she agreed, she felt the same way, she had moved there for work as well,” he told Newsweek.
“We started talking about where we might want to raise a family and Montana wasn’t one of the first things that came up it just happened really organically we just kind of looked around and traveled around. I remember I would go back and forth between where I live now and L.A. and at a certain point, it didn’t feel like I was going home. It felt like I was leaving home and I felt like there was just a calling here.
“And I know that sounds a little kind of hippie-dippy, but it really did start to feel like I’m supposed to be here. She felt the same way. And yeah, we finally just started looking for a place and we built a home and it worked ’cause we do feel like we’re home now.”
Grimes has such an affinity with Montana that he has since worked with Carhartt for its “History In The Making” campaign, in which he features in the brand’s short film, Made in Montana, to celebrate the hardworking ranchers and farmers in Montana who are actively working to preserve their land and provide the essential food and natural resources that people rely on every day.
“I just think it was the right approach to tell the story of what’s going on in this valley that I live in and they were cool enough to run with that and even take it beyond my expectation and I loved it,” he said.
The iconic workwear brand has also released a Montana collection inspired by ranchers from the state. It was specially designed for warmth and durability that will get people through winters of hard work.
Before he was Kayce Dutton, Grimes appeared as Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee in the biographical war movie American Sniper (2014).
A year later, the 40-year-old landed the part of Elliot Grey, Christian Grey’s younger brother in the Fifty Shades of Grey film franchise, and had a brief six-episode stint in the TV series True Blood (2008-2014) as vampire James. Grimes most recently starred in the Netflix original romantic comedy Happiness for Beginners alongside Ellie Kemper.