‘Yellowstone’ drama continues — Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes want raises for spinoff: report
There’s a little more giddyup at the Dutton Ranch.
“Yellowstone” stars Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and Cole Hauser are seeking raises to appear on the show’s spinoff series, according to a report in Puck News.
In the Paramount Network series, Reilly, Grimes and Hauser play Beth Dutton, Kayce Dutton and Rip Wheeler, respectively. According to the report, there have been back-and-forth conversations about salary for several months.
Reilly, Grimes and Hauser have reportedly asked for big per-episode salary bumps to return to the “Yellowstone” franchise — $1.5 million for Reilly, 46, and $1.25 million for Hauser, 48, who currently makes $700,000 per episode for “Yellowstone,” according to the report. They want to be first on the production’s call sheet above Matthew McConaughey, who still has not officially signed on for the series.
Reilly has lowered her per-episode salary demands to $1.2 million, according to Puck. There was no word on what Grimes, 40, seeks for the spinoff, only that he’s been in discussions.
All three actors — Reilly, Grimes and Hauser — were contracted for a sixth season of “Yellowstone,” which is now dead, but Paramount must still pay them for the ghost season, according to Puck.
Series co-creator Taylor Sheridan, 53, hadn’t planned on including the trio in the spinoff but changed his mind after being persuaded they could draw viewers to the new show, which will reportedly star McConaughey, 54, according to Puck.
Michelle Pfeiffer, 65, is in negotiations to join the sequel, tentatively titled “2024,” which will pick up after the events of “Yellowstone,” according to Puck.
“Yellowstone” is scheduled to wrap its fifth and final season later this year — apparently without series star Kevin Costner, 69, who’s been feuding on and off with Sheridan for almost two years.
It all reportedly started when Costner wanted more time off from “Yellowstone” to shoot his two-part Western “Horizon.” He also reportedly claimed the “Yellowstone” script delays were cutting into production for the film.
The first half of Season 5 of “Yellowstone” premiered in late 2022 to 12.1 million viewers. Part 2 was supposed to premiere last summer but was derailed by the writers (WGA) and actors strikes (SAG-AFTRA) that ran almost concurrently from last May through November, which threw series production into chaos and delayed most of prime time.
Part 2 is scheduled to premiere in November.
In addition to “2024,” “Yellowstone” has spawned the prequel series “1883” — starring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill — and “1923,” starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren — both recounting the saga of the Dutton family.
Sheridan is also feuding with Hauser over the latter’s coffee brand, Free Rein, and in November filed a lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of Texas’ San Angelo Division for trademark infringement.
Sheridan alleges that Free Rein uses “a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers,” according to San Angelo Live.
Sheridan owns Bosque Ranch in Weatherford, Texas, where scenes from “Yellowstone” have been filmed. It’s valued at $264 million, according to Wide Open Country.
He reportedly charges Paramount $50,000 a week to film there. Sheridan also owns the 6666 Ranch in the Texas Panhandle.