Taylor Sheridan’s flagship series wrapped up its five season run back in December of 2024. Did the popular western drama that captivated the world stick the landing with its finale? That depends on who you ask. For some fans, the ending – even with Kevin Costner’s early departure – at least provided some closure for all the characters. For others, it was somewhat of a limp to the finish line.

If you ask Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly, who played Beth Dutton in the hit show, she’d tell you that it wasn’t a smooth landing for the series.

No, seriously. Reilly recently sat down with The Sunday Times and pretty much spilled the tea about the conclusion of Taylor Sheridan’s series, and here’s how the actress behind Beth Dutton felt about how it all went down:

“It’s a shame it ended that way, but it did.”

That’s actually a really good way of putting it.

Yellowstone was one of the strongest shows on television during its first four seasons. I think pretty much everyone would agree that Season 5 was a bit weaker, and many just draw that up as a result of Costner’s early and somewhat unexpected exit. Besides some on-set tension that came to light thanks to Yellowstone actor Wes Bentley, not much is known about the dynamics of the cast and crew as the series rolled on.

Judging by what Kelly Reilly had to say about it all, it sure sounds like there were some things going on behind the scenes:

“(If) we were just having a beer, I could share more. But yes, it was only supposed to go on for five years. It was successful… a life of its own.

I’m just picking my words, because I’ve never really talked about it. A lot went on behind the scenes that had nothing to do with me; I was just waiting. ‘When are we going back to work?’”

It’d be nice to know what Reilly would say if she wasn’t picking her words. It’s pretty well known that off-screen drama essentially killed the series with disagreements between Sheridan and Costner being pretty well publicized. According to Costner, he contracted to work during a certain time frame knowing he wanted to be able to work on his Horizon project, and when Yellowstone got delayed, he reportedly wanted more money for more time. There were also reports of him wanting to see the script and wanting to know how it ended in order to keep filming.

Sheridan, on the other hand, is notoriously secretive with his scripts, and said on record that they were more than accommodating with Costner’s schedule. He also said he always felt like he could work anything out with Kevin directly, but that once lawyers got involved, it all went downhill… take from that what you will.

All in all though, Kelly Reilly is thankful for her role in the show, and the opportunity to portray a powerful, not-by-the-book female character. She’s grateful for her time on Yellowstone, and excited that she gets to continue playing Beth Dutton in the upcoming spinoff:

“This is a different era – I had hit my quota of the younger Beth. Because she is unapologetic, out there, flawed, damaged and brave. Women are always asked to play strong role model types, while men can play the gnarliest characters and get away with it.”

Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are both set to reprise their respective roles in the spinoff that’s officially been titled Dutton Ranch. It was originally supposed to air in late 2025, but it was eventually pushed back to an “Early 2026” release.

There’s still no official word on when viewers will be able to see Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler return to our television screens again… but it should be sometime this year.