Yellowstone: Cast addresses repeated awards snubs
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Despite Yellowstone being an instant hit with viewers since it first premiered in 2018, the Paramount+ series hasn’t found the same success in the Hollywood industry after being largely ignored at award shows.
However, cast members brushed aside the repeated snubs, claiming that the real accolade is the recognition they’re getting from the show’s ever-growing fan base.
Speaking to Dailymail.com during the season five premiere, Wes Bentley (who plays Jamie Dutton) said: “I personally don’t think awards validate anything.
Brush it off: The cast of Yellowstone has shared their true feelings about being rejected by Hollywood awards. (From left to right – Wes Bentley, from left, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham and Cole Hauser)
Family business: Pictured left to right – Beth Dutton (played by Kelly Reilly), John Dutton (Kevin Costner), Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille), and Jamie Duttong (Wes Bentley). Front row – Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser)
“It’s an honor, as they say, but as far as saying whether we’re doing something right or not, it’s not.”
He continued: “A lot of shows don’t get the recognition they deserve and many do get it that don’t deserve it. It’s just a matter of opinion of each specific academy.
“I know we’re a success because people are watching it. The conversation I have with fans is so much deeper than usual.’
His opponent Gil Birmingham (who plays Tribal chairman Thomas Rainwater) agreed when he added, “Hollywood is a fickle beast. I think it’s more important that we captured the hearts and minds of the audience and our fans.
No Gongs: The Kevin Costner-led series, directed and largely written by Taylor Sheridan, has been largely frowned upon at Hollywood award shows, despite attracting millions of viewers
Unopposed: Wes Bentley (L) says awards ‘validate nothing, while co-star Gil Birmingham claimed audience fun is more important’
“Westerns are not a genre that is typically rewarded historically.”
The drama series – which has been called ‘anti-woke’ by some critics – was finally recognized by the SAG Awards earlier this year after being nominated for Outstanding Performance.
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While the show failed to take home the award, Kelsey Asbille (who plays Monica Dutton) revealed that it was great to be there alongside their peers in the industry.
“Being at the SAG awards made so much sense, but awards are definitely not what it’s all about,” she stated. “This is a dream job and we’re just happy to be here.”
Meanwhile, Jefferson White (who stars as Jimmy Hurdstrom) stated that he would like to see the tide turn for the show with season five.
He explained: “I hope this season gets awards because I love these actors and I think they’re doing a great job.
“I hope other people recognize that, but it’s also true that the fan’s reaction to it is the recognition these actors deserve, and we’re so lucky to have that.”
Directed and largely written by Taylor Sheridan, the Kevin Costner-led series received a lot of criticism, especially when it first aired.
Set in the American West, Yellowstone’s Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called the show a “testosterone grit-fest” that is far from recognizable.
Grateful: Kelsey Asbillie admitted it would have been ‘meaningful’ to attend the SAG Awards, while Jefferson White hopes castmates will win awards in the future
“Yellowstone tries to be so elaborate and soap opera that there’s hardly any realism in it,” Goodman wrote.
Just before the season three finale, Vulture’s Kathyrn VanArendonk wrote that Yellowstone is “the whitest, most male American show on TV.
This criticism did little to stop the runaway popularity of the modern ranch show, with streaming on Paramount going from strength to strength in recent years.
In fact, a record 15 million people tuned in to the season four finale.
Not politically correct: Yellowstone was nicknamed ‘anti-wake’ after it premiered on Paramount+ because of its focus on a land-owning white man in rural America
Yellowstone follows Costner’s John Dutton, a Montana landowner who oversees his wealth and family, a setting rarely seen in top modern programming.
While it’s often compared to HBO’s Succession — they came out the same year and are both family-owned dramas — it breaks the bar for a hit series due to the fact that it’s not based on the East or West Coast, but instead takes place in Montana.
And unlike series like Succession that set current drama in the Big Apple or Los Angeles, Yellowstone avoids big city problems and political correctness conflicts, instead casting a lens on rural America where local businesses lose wealth and power in a changing nation.
Emily VanDerWerff, a TV critic for Vox, ultimately attributes Yellowstone’s success to its ability to tap into Central America and portray a different kind of fantasy.
“Yellowstone finds some kind of solace in the relaxed delights of a world where everything is as it should be. ‘This is fine,’ it reads, as the evening sun spreads red fire in the west.’
Next Chapter: Fans will watch the Duttons get ready to defend their ranchland, starting in a two-hour season five premiere on November 13 on the Paramount Network
Fans will watch the Dutton family get ready to defend their ranchland, starting in a two-hour season five premiere on November 13 on Paramount Network.
The fifth season sees John Dutton (Kevin Costner) sworn in as governor of Montana, showing the chaos, enemies and “war” that immediately follow.
The fifth season of Yellowstone will be split into two parts of seven episodes each.
The first two episodes are coming Paramount+ on November 13 and on Paramount + UK the following day, with episodes for part one appearing weekly thereafter.
The second episode of season five will air on Paramount+ in 2023.