“Yellowstone” Star Kelly Reilly Says “It Was A Shame” How The Show Ended
on Jan 28, 2026
Kelly Reilly Touches On The Rumored Drama That Led To The End Of Yellowstone
For the first time ever, Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly has opened up about the alleged drama that preceded the show’s final season.
To catch you up to speed, Yellowstone‘s fifth season went on a mid-season break in January 2023. The show finally resumed in November 2024, nearly two years later.
Production was delayed for multiple reasons, including the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Additionally, there was rumored behind-the-scenes drama between series lead Kevin Costner and those running the show.
Costner didn’t return for the second half of Yellowstone‘s fifth season, which ended up being its last. He later clarified that he “didn’t quit“ the show, saying scheduling conflicts with other projects and failed contract negotiations led to his sudden departure.
“There were the gaps that were there,” Costner told SiriusXM’s The Michael Smerconish Program.“There [were] contractual things that would allow for both things to be done, but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other thing. There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule.”
For his part, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan said he never had an issue with Costner that they couldn’t resolve between themselves. But he claims things got complicated during Season 5’s hiatus.
“I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter. “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame…“
Since Costner left the show, Sheridan was “disappointed” with how his character’s “closure” played out. He said, “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.“
Kelly Reilly, who played Beth Dutton on Yellowstone, has since expressed her own disappointment with how the show ended. During a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Reilly said:
“If…we were just having a beer, I could share more.”
Continuing, Reilly said, “I’m just picking my words, because I’ve never really talked about it. A lot went on behind the scenes that had nothing to do with me; I was just waiting [and wondering] ‘When are we going back to work?’ It was a shame it ended that way, but it did.”
Beth Dutton And Rip Wheeler Will Soon Have Their Own Spin-Off Series, Dutton Ranch
Although Yellowstone is over, Kelly Reilly doesn’t have to say “goodbye” to Beth Dutton for good. She’ll reprise her role in the upcoming prequel series Dutton Ranch.
The series, whose title was just officially confirmed, will follow Beth and her husband, Rip Wheeler (played by Cole Hauser) as they plant roots on their new land.
“This is a different era — I had hit my quota of the younger Beth,” Reilly told The Sunday Times about how her character has changed.
But she reassured fans that “there is [still] a lot of why the audience fell in love with her.” She joked that Beth hasn’t suddenly taken up yoga, and she didn’t “want to suddenly sanitize her with therapy or good behavior.”
However, Reilly says she is “trying to find a bit more maturity” in Beth these days.
We’ll have to see how that plays out when Dutton Ranch premieres this year. Catch a sneak peek of the series in the Paramount+ teaser video below.
