Like Kevin Costner, “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan has a partial movie background, having written such films as “Sicario” and “Hell or Highwater” and directed and written such films as “Wind River” and “Those Who Wish Me Dead.” Sheridan also wrote and directed every episode of the first season of “Yellowstone,” only sharing a story credit on the first two episodes with series co-creator John Linson.
This gave Costner a firm guiding hand when it came to Dutton’s story in the first season. The second season switched things up, bringing in different directors and a full-on writers’ room to help steer the direction of the show.
For Costner, this is where things became difficult. “We’ve dealt with things,” he told IndieWire, “but this second season was a combination of a writers’ room and [Sheridan], so that wasn’t exactly clear. Now it’s just a straight writers’ room.”
“Yellowstone” has maintained its revolving door of directors, but TV is more of a writer’s medium, anyway, and from its third season onward, Sheridan has penned every episode of the show. This may have given Costner the stability he was looking for, ensuring that he would stick around as Dutton, become the fictional Governor of Montana, and continue to preside over the Dutton dynasty and the growing TV empire of “Yellowstone.”