Yellowstone is BACK! Show officially starts production in Montana and will return to screens in November - amid Kevin Costner's controversial exit

Paramount Network announced Monday that Yellowstone, TV's #1 show, has officially started production of the second part of the fifth (and final) season.

Taylor Sheridan and John Linson's neo-western - resuming November 10 - are currently filming the final six episodes in Montana after being delayed due to the WGA/SAG strikes.

However, producer-star Kevin Costner was set to conclude his Golden Globe-winning role as John Dutton III in the hit show before his controversial exit. 

'Well, Taylor and I know what the conditions are for coming back, and I'll just keep that between ourselves,' the 69-year-old Oscar nominee said in his GQ cover story on Monday.

'And if we can't get to it, it's because at the end of the day, it's unreasonable for them or something. I love that character. I love that world. I am a person that is very script oriented. And if the scripts aren't there now, I need to know what I am. I want to make sure that the character lines up with what's important to me too. And that's pretty simple. That's just between, again, Taylor and myself. Can we ever get there? I don't know.'

Paramount Network announced Monday that Yellowstone, TV's #1 show, has officially started production of the second part of the fifth (and final) season

Kevin added: 'What am I supposed to do? I'm just not a dog that waits in a driveway not knowing when the person's going to come home. I want to know. And I also understood that their universe was really big, so I just decided not to sit in the driveway, but to be busy myself and be available when I could. It didn't end up happening.'

Costner's Montana rancher character was rumored to be killed off with a deadly recurrence of colon cancer, which afflicted him during the first season. 

Yellowstone also stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham.

It chronicles the fictional Dutton family, who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the States.

'Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect – the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and America's first national park,' the logline reads.

Yellowstone - which amassed 12.1M viewers for the fifth season premiere - currently has an 84% critic approval rating and a 76% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Emmy-nominated show has also spawned several spin-offs and prequels - including 1883, 1923, 6666, 1944, and 2024.

Taylor Sheridan (R, pictured in 2023) and John Linson's neo-western - resuming November 10 - is currently filming in Montana after being delayed due to the WGA/SAG strikes

However, producer-star Kevin Costner (R) was set to conclude his Golden Globe-winning role as John Dutton III in the hit show before his controversial exit

The 69-year-old Oscar nominee said in his GQ cover story on Monday: 'Well, Taylor and I know what the conditions are for coming back, and I'll just keep that between ourselves. And if we can't get to it, it's because at the end of the day, it's unreasonable for them or something'

Kevin added: 'I love that character. I love that world. I am a person that is very script oriented. And if the scripts aren't there now, I need to know what I am. I want to make sure that the character lines up with what's important to me too. And that's pretty simple. That's just between, again, Taylor and myself. Can we ever get there? I don't know'

The Emmy-nominated show also stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley (pictured), Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham

Yellowstone - which amassed 12.1M viewers for the fifth season premiere - currently has an 84% critic approval rating and a 76% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes

It has also spawned several spin-offs and prequels - including 1883, 1923, 6666, 1944, and 2024