JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Early reviews of Yellowstone are pouring in. The new TV series starring Kevin Costner premiered last night on Paramount with a 3-hour season opener.
The series is written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (Wind River) who has ties to Wyoming and currently lives here part-time.
Yellowstone tells the story of a large ranch owner (Costner) bordering Yellowstone National Park and an American Indian Reservation.
It’s a modern-day western highlighting modern-day issues facing today’s “cowboys.” For instance, the bad guy Irish cattle baron of yore is now the golf-loving developer trying to build his subdivisions.
Sheridan does his usual thing here—putting difficult characters into raw and rugged terrain. He does a decent job of getting the “West” right (the way we talk, the way we think) with only a few missteps that give away his Hollywood.
In the lengthy premiere, very little had to do with Yellowstone the park. Jackson Hole was mentioned once, by the tony developer who suggested Bozeman needed a rodeo to put the disappearing western cowboy on display for tourists.
“Like they have in Jackson Hole,” Danny Huston’s character says.
Ouch.
Early reviews
Allison Keene’s review for Collider was dead on from the headline: “Yellowstone Review: Beautiful Country, Terrible People.” Her 2-star review closed with, “Yellowstone could be beautiful, if it weren’t for the people.”
And therein lies a major challenge for Sheridan and company. The show (at least the first episode) is all about forcing ‘gritty into pretty’ and the viewer is supposed to automatically appreciate the juxtaposition of complex characters dotting a big sky landscape.
Then there’s the multiple plot lines. Everyone is angry and sullen. Everyone squints and snarls and stomps around in their cowboy boots under a hardscrabble sky bitching about daddy issues or an ‘east infection.’
But who’s to like? Finding a hero in this western isn’t easy.
Erik Adams review for AV/TV Club began, “On Yellowstone, the only thing unspoiled is the land.”
Uproxx critic Pilot Viruet wrote: “‘Yellowstone’ Takes A Big Swing But Never Really Connects.”
The acting is strong. The cinematography and filming is brilliant. Sheridan might be reaching for too much here but it is riveting viewing.
