Paramount Network’s New Series ‘Yellowstone’ Looks Like A Hit

Paramount Network’s new series Yellowstone kicked off with a feature-length premiere, and if the first episode is any indication, the show is going to be a hit. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who played David Hale in Sons of Anarchy and directed highly-acclaimed movies like Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River, made the pilot of his new show really feel like a movie—and a four-star movie, at that.

 

To avoid spoilers for those that haven’t seen the premiere but are thinking about watching, I don’t want to get into specifics of what happened in last night’s debut, “Daybreak”, but it was an amazing couple of hours that masterfully set up the story and the setting for the show.

 

Starring Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, with Wes Bentley, David Annable, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Gil Birmingham, and Cole Hauser, among others, Yellowstone is an original series that takes place in Montana and focuses on the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner). The Dutton family owns the largest ranch in the United States, but they are under siege from the government, wealthy land developers, and an Indian reservation.

 

John Dutton has four children: Jamie (Bentley), Lee (Annable), Kayce (Grimes), and Beth (Reilly). Costner’s character is basically the king of the valley, but as Shakespeare said, “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Defending his land and his livestock can be a dangerous game, and the opening scene of the series shows how violent things can be.

 

It’s displayed throughout the entire first episode, but it doesn’t take long to realize Yellowstone is a very realistic and gritty story. Given his history, it feels like something that would come from Taylor Sheridan—which is a good thing. Yellowstone is uncompromising, which makes it possible to possess the realness that helps make a great television show.

 

But Yellowstone appears to be a lot more than just grittiness and violence. There were some funny and heartwarming moments throughout the premiere. Government and politics (Jamie Dutton is a lawyer) appear poised to play a major factor in the story. And the family dynamic is very intriguing. Really, there’s something for almost everyone to love about the show.

 

In particular, the relationship between Kayce Dutton and the rest of his family is fascinating. Kayce has a wife and a kid, but they live on the Indian reservation and are nearly fully alienated from the Dutton family. But still, he’s stuck between two worlds being pulled in both directions.

 

As you might expect from a great cast headlined by Kevin Costner with other great cast members along with him, the acting in Yellowstone is awesome so far. There’s no reason to believe Paramount Network’s new show won’t deliver top-notch acting every episode, which of course helps the story and relationships to be more believable.

 

And Sheridan is directing all ten episodes of the first season, so the Yellowstone will be told exactly as he intended from start to finish. It should almost be like a ten-plus hour extended movie you can watch in your own home over the course of several weeks. Truly great television might have surpassed movies in recent years anyway, and that could be what we’re getting with Yellowstone.

 

It’s early, but Yellowstone looks like one of the top shows of 2018.

 

 

Episode 2 of ‘Yellowstone’, “Kill the Messenger”, airs next Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET on Paramount Network.