Kevin Costner is about to become a cowboy — again — for Yellowstone, a big-budget film about bloody land battles and backstabbing of sibling rivals in the changing new American West. changing rapidly nowadays.

The Oscar-winning leading man and director of Dances With Wolves and the Emmy-winning star of Hatfields & McCoys lassos takes on his first series regular role as proud, stubborn widower John Dutton, a billionaire and sixth generation breeders. He has four adult children who live in harmony with each other like a herd of wild stallions and a Montana ranch the size of Rhode Island that’s about to become a war zone.

“It’s an R-rated Bonanza,” says series creator, writer and director Taylor Sheridan. His films Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario also grapple with the death toll in clashes that cross physical and cultural borders. “It’s like [classic Western director] John Ford came back from the dead and decided to make a  TV show.”

John Dutton could also be a man from the past. “He wanted to run the farm like his great-grandfather did,” said Costner, who dug deep into American history to create a backstory for his character that included John’s ancestors to the West on the so-called orphan train, said. , later became a cattle baron in the late 1800s. Costner added: “John’s fingerprints are on suspicious actions that long ago left no doubt.” “He loves the land and doesn’t care much about who he has to step on to get it. He is unrepentant.”

In the premiere, the Dutton family circles the wagons on two fronts: John leads a well-armed cavalry squadron from his helicopter in a deadly conflict with the Broken Rock tribe, which hosts Their ambitious new president, Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), wants the land back. taken away from his people.

In the fight are his oldest right-hand man, Lee (Dave Annable), and his youngest prodigal son, horse whisperer Kayce (Luke Grimes). Meanwhile, John’s two middle children – fierce corporate takeover tycoon Beth (Kelly Reilly) and famous lawyer Jamie (Wes Bentley) – are ordered to crush a encroaching real estate developer. satisfy Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) in every way possible. an American-only story made 100% in the USA. Yellowstone was filmed in Montana and Utah, with vast landscapes like a fairy tale. In terms of location, you get a sense of the land that John Dutton loved, the vastness of manufacturing and the harshness of life on a modern scale. Snow-capped mountains frame the vast, idyllic green valley as the film crew filming an angry and kidnapped Kayce nods as his friend says, “Should have shot him when I had the chance.”

In Park City, Utah, the production occupied 45,000 square feet of sound stage, with sets including a casino office on a Native American reservation, a cowboy bunkhouse, the Dutton mansion, and a green screen for those awesome helicopter shots. Everything about Yellowstone is big: the stars, the sky, the budget.

That big budget makes sense for the newly revamped Paramount Network, which emerged from Spike earlier this year. “Yellowstone represents everything Paramount Network is known for: high-quality, cinematic scripted series with compelling storytelling,” said Kevin Kay, president of Paramount Network, CMT and TV Land. leading and appropriate”.

And that’s epic storytelling. A tragedy in the premiere has a ripple effect that lasts throughout the season’s eight episodes as John defends his property from his tribe, developers, politicians, government, and more. “John loved the land like you love a child,” Costner said, “but there were forces coming to the farm. His question was: “Are my