TV NEWS
The Yellowstone Casting Debacle That Upset Taylor Sheridan & Made HBO Drop The Show
By PATRICK PHILLIPS
“Yellowstone” debuted on Paramount with Kevin Costner headlining, and it has been very successful. However, the series would have debuted on HBO if it weren’t for a casting debacle.
When series co-creator Taylor Sheridan pitched “Yellowstone” to HBO as “The Godfather in Montana,” HBO were interested, assuming he could land a star to play patriarch John Dutton.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan claims that HBO said “Yellowstone” would be quickly greenlit if he landed Robert Redford for the role.
Sheridan convinced Redford to play the part. However, when Sheridan reported the good news, HBO told him that they meant to cast “a Robert Redford type,” and not Redford himself.
HBO eventually killed the project, but the one saving grace was that outgoing HBO boss Michael Lombardo was kind enough to return the series' rights to Sheridan.
The move was a rarity from HBO, as the studio tends to retain rights to shows they reject lest they become a hit for another network. “Yellowstone” then found a home on Paramount.