'It's easy to be popular': Kevin Costner dismisses lack of industry recognition for 'Yellowstone'
‘Yellowstone’ is one of the most popular shows on television and fans have been showering a lot of praise on the series since its inception. Even after getting strong reviews and critical acclaim, the show could never gather much hype during the awards season. A lot of people believed that the show has been unfairly neglected over the years and should have won top prizes for its extraordinary storytelling.
In 2021, the series received a Screen Actors Guild nomination in the Best Ensemble category but failed to win the accolade. However, fans were still not happy how the show was never nominated in the main categories of popular award ceremonies like the Emmy and the Golden Globes. Talking about how the series has been unfairly neglected by the industry and the press, actor Kevin Costner said that others chose to be popular, but they chose to be “relevant”.
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor, who plays the role of John Dutton on the Paramount show, was asked how he feels about the show getting the cultural recognition so late even though fans have been loving the series since the beginning. While answering the question, Costner said that it’s fairly easy to be popular and harder to be relevant, and they chose to be “relevant”.
He added, “Taylor chose to be relevant to himself, to this world. This is what he wants to write about, so when he attempted to write about what he thought was important, some popularity followed but we didn’t anticipate that. I think that’s what we have to do. We can’t just discount our work. If this show wasn’t popular, I would still feel the same way about the work that was going on.”
The actor also opined that people will never get tired of watching running horses, rivers flowing, and mountains, so when someone presents a story in front of these beautiful backgrounds, it will undoubtedly “capture someone’s attention”.
He also praised Taylor Sheridan for creating a world that’s so amazing. “You’re watching the architecture of a theatrical artist.”
The series began in 2018 and although the first received mixed reviews from critics, fans were absolutely clear from the beginning that this show is going to be their next obsession. The show was renewed for a second edition and garnered positive reviews. Since then, the show has been getting better with each passing season and Season 3 went on to become the highest-rated season in the show’s history with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even then, the show failed to nab attention during the awards season.
The finale of Season 4 broke viewing records and despite such a level of success, the drama series hasn't gotten the same recognition or award-show nominations as many of its equally successful peers like 'Game of Thrones', and 'Succession'. It’s unfortunate that a successful show like ‘Yellowstone’ is being shunned by the guilds and award juries.
Nevertheless, ‘Yellowstone’ is currently filming its fifth season in Montana and will premiere exclusively on Paramount on November 13. The upcoming edition will be the first time that the season will be divided into two parts and feature 14 episodes.
The series also stars Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton), Cole Hauser (Rip), Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton), Piper Perabo (Summer Higgins), Kelsey Asbille (Monica Long Dutton), Jennifer Landon (Teeter), and Finn Little (Carter) in pivotal roles.