Yellowstone executive producer teases ‘surprising and inevitable’ series finale

By Blair Marnell Published December 10, 2024

Yellowstone debuted in 2018, and barring an unexpected season 6 pickup, the show will come to an end in less than a week. The first episode back dealt with the death of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, but now the destiny of the remaining Dutton family members and the fate of the Yellowstone ranch itself will be decided in the series finale. And according to Yellowstone executive producer Christina Voros, the ending felt inevitable for the show.

“I was surprised and I didn’t see it coming,” Voros told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think the conclusion to any great story is both surprising and inevitable, but you don’t realize it was inevitable until you get there. It all makes sense looking backward. But looking forward, you never would have seen it coming. That’s the magic place in storytelling and I think [series creator] Taylor [Sheridan] has done that with the finale. When I read the script, it took my breath away. And I’m someone who has been living in this world since season 1. I know the characters intimately, I know the creator well, I know the story better than any story in my life, and I was sort of kicking myself that I didn’t see it coming. But, I didn’t see it coming.”

Voros also touched upon the way that Luke Grimes’ Kayce Dutton has been at the forefront in the back half of season 5. In the penultimate episode, Kayce indicated that to save the ranch, he and his family may have to “give it away.” While Voros didn’t elaborate on what Kayce meant by that, she praised Grimes’ performance.

“I think this season for him was magnificent,’ said Voros. “I think what Taylor wrote for him was magnificent, but I also think that Kayce has been the quiet hero in his father’s shadows from the very beginning. And there’s something that’s happened this season, that we talked about earlier, where in the absence of the patriarch, everyone has to step up. And in the absence of Kevin [Costner], the rest of the cast really had a large stage to fill, and they did such a phenomenal job stepping in to fill that space, and Luke especially. So much was weighed on his shoulders this season, and to be able to step into that and carry the story and the legacy in the way that he has, it’s been beautiful to watch. The burden from a performance standpoint that he has shouldered — he has done it so deftly and effortlessly — it’s a profound, profound performance from him this season, and I love that people are in love with where his character has gone this season, because I am too.”

The series finale of Yellowstone will air this Sunday, December 15, on Paramount Network.