Monday, June 1, 2026

“Yellowstone” Fans Freak Out As John Dutton is Killed, No One Can Figure Out Where the Show Is

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I told you exclusively on Thursday night that “Yellowstone” was killing off John Dutton in the first episode of season 5.2.

And they did. Jamie, his son, had the deed committed and they made it look like a suicide.

Kevin Costner is gone. We knew that for more than a year. Wasn’t anyone paying attention?

Costner left to leverage his “Yellowstone” popularity and make his film, “Horizon.” It bombed, the sequel has never been released, and two more chapters are on the drawing board.

The show will end with this season, or be migrated into a new iteration with some of the existing actors.

This is Costner’s fault. Online, fans were freaking out that Taylor Sheridan, the show’s creator, had done something awful. Many blamed Costner. Let’s say fault was on both sides. But what else could happen? They weren’t going to recast John Dutton. Sheridan got rid of him, like clearing the underbrush. It reminded me of when Julian Fellowes knocked off Dan Stevens when he left “Downton Abbey.” It was a decisive move!

Meantime, fans on Twitter X had a lot of trouble finding “Yellowstone.” It aired on the Paramount Channel on cable at 8pm, but not on CBS until 10pm and not on streaming until today. A lot of people went to the Paramount Plus thinking it would be there, or to Peacock. They were disappointed to say the least.

“Yellowstone,” a crazy knock off of “Dallas,” could have gone on for years. Costner could have just cooperated and made the series, and filmed movies during the hiatuses. But he had to make “Horizon,” a movie no one wanted. and this is the result.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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