Yellowstone Cast Has Yet To Film The Second Half Of Season 5 Let Alone Receive The Scripts
Despite now being best known as the writer and creator of "Yellowstone" and its spin-offs, Taylor Sheridan will be the first to admit that writing was not his first calling. Sheridan, who cites a vicious insult as the inspiration to start writing, had been acting since 1995 and slowly moving up in the industry from guest roles in forgotten series into a recurring role as Deputy Chief David Hale on the popular series "Sons of Anarchy." But after deciding he didn't want just to be a number on a call sheet for the rest of his life, he decided to change careers. We're thankful he did, and the recognition he received writing "Sicario," "Hell or High Water," and "Wind River" definitely made him realize he was now on the right path.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Sheridan says he prefers "to come up with extremely simple plots, and then I can have — because I don't have to explain a lot — really, really complex characters." This makes sense when you think about all the dimensions characters such as Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) have. Sheridan thinks it's "much more entertaining and thought-provoking."
Even so, many are surprised that four episodes into the fifth season, none of the second half of the season has been filmed, and no one in the cast has even received scripts.
The cast often gets scripts a few days before filming
In an interview with Outsider, 14-year-old Brecken Merrill, who plays Tate Dutton, talks about the shooting schedule of "Yellowstone," saying, "It was very chaotic, we didn't know if we were going to have a break, we didn't know when we were going to be back." The Californian revealed that he misses his friends when he's away in Montana, but "we Facetime every day, and I mean, we're only halfway done!" Merrill went on to acknowledge that none of the second half of the season has been filmed.
With filming for the second half of Season 5 to continue in March, it may seem strange to many, but it's simply the way Sheridan does things, and the cast doesn't seem to mind. "We're getting scripts, like, three days before we shoot them," Luke Grimes, who plays John Dutton, told The Atlantic. "None of us knew where this thing was going ... I'd never been a part of something like that. But it just felt so alive and so fresh."
For Merrill's part, he hasn't received a script yet for the rest of Season 5, but he's just enjoying the ride and trying not to give away any plot secrets for the first half of the season. "I've got to keep my mouth shut! I cannot spoil anything," he said.