Proud to be from Dutton! While Yellowstone’s off-camera drama has continued to make headlines, star Lainey Wilson has addressed the show’s future.
“No matter which direction it goes, it’s gonna be incredible because Taylor Sheridan, I mean, he can do no wrong, in my opinion,” the “Heart Like a Truck” songstress, 30, gushed to Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, May 11, at the Academy of Country Music Awards, when asked if she was “worried” about season 5. “But yeah. I’m waiting for that call. I’m like, ‘Y’all let me know when to be there and I’ll be there.’”
Wilson joined the Paramount drama in the season 5 premiere, portraying the role of Abby. Her character even struck up a sweet romance with Ian Bohen’s character, Ryan.
“[Taylor] had put a few of my songs in the show and then invited me out to Vegas to play a horse-riding competition, and that’s where I got to meet him,” the “Hold My Halo” artist exclusively told Us Weekly last month on how she landed the part. “[We] became buddies and, you know, I knew the friendship would lead to something. I didn’t know it necessarily meant me being in the show.”
She added at the time: “He called me last February and he said, ‘I want to create a character specifically for you, and I want you to wear your bell bottoms. I want you to sing your own songs and be yourself but go by a musician named Abby.’”
While Wilson was eager to join the Western drama, the show soon sparked speculation about its future. Reports swirled earlier this year that lead actor Kevin Costner had held up production on the back half of season 5, which has yet to be completed. The 68-year-old Dances With Wolves actor, who stars as patriarch John Dutton III, fervently denied the claims.
“The holdup is not coming from Kevin,” a source exclusively told Us earlier this month, shortly after his attorney Marty Singer issued a statement defending his client. “He is also very disappointed by the delays, which are beyond his control.”
The reports also speculated that Sheridan, 52, and Costner had feuded on the set, which heightened rumors when they both dropped out of a planned PaleyFest appearance at the last minute. Actors Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Jacki Weaver and Gil Birmingham were also absent at the April event, which attendees and media only learned about moments before the panel kicked off. Costars Wendy Moniz, Dawn Olivieri, Josh Lucas and Mo Brings Plenty appeared instead.
Yellowstone season 5 premiered in November 2022 and wrapped the following January. While production has not addressed what led to the hiatus for the second half of the new episodes, Paramount announced in May that the show would conclude. After Yellowstone wraps, an untitled sequel will usher in a new era of the Duttons’ story.
“Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement at the time.
Wilson, for her part, later admitted to Extra on Thursday that she doesn’t “know what’s happening” with the show, but will “bet [her] bottom dollar” that she’ll return for the finale.
Amid the show’s drama, Costner has been going through a difficult time in his personal life. His wife of 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce earlier this month.
“He is apparently still trying to save his marriage,” a second source told Us of the Oscar winner. “Kevin loves his wife and children so this has been very hard on him. He is saying that this is his worst nightmare and he would do anything for his family.”
