With milestones like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO is one of the most important series creators in TV history. Today, however, the station is probably annoyed about having rejected the Western hit Yellowstone. Paramount Network eventually secured the production from creator Taylor Sheridan, which is now considered the most successful ongoing series in the USA.
Sheridan talked about why HBO rejected the series at the time. He took revenge himself with a storyline set within Yellowstone.
HBO rejected Yellowstone for absurd reasons
We already reported that the series first planned without Kevin Costner with Robert Redford should be – which then did not come about.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan spoke in more detail about the reasons why HBO rejected Yellowstone at the time. On the one hand, the showrunner received a comment from HBO executives about the pilot episode that Kelly Reilly was in the role of Beth Dutton too harsh and unsympathetic be:
‘We think she’s too aggressive. We want to mitigate them. Women won’t like them.’ They were wrong because Beth says the quiet part out loud every time. If someone is rude to you in a restaurant or interrupts you in the parking lot, Beth says what you wish you had said.
Paramount
Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton in Yellowstone
On the other hand, Sheridan also became a clear one Yellowstone cancellation due to setting in the rather inhospitable American state of Montana, as he described to 6666 Ranch:
And when I asked why, they said, ‘Nobody wants to see that. Nobody wants to see a movie about it. And you don’t understand why anyone is out there at all. The whole thing should be a park.’Yellowstone creator dealt with HBO’s cancellation with a murder that takes place in the series’ story
As the Hollywood Reporter explains, the showrunner used the setting tip for a small, personal act of revenge. In Yellowstone Season 2, there is a scene in which Montana is badmouthed to Wes Bentley’s character Jamie by a reporter from New York Magazine. She also wants to destroy his entire corrupt family with incriminating evidence. He then mercilessly strangles her.
You can currently watch this moment and many other scenes yourself on Netflix. The first 3 seasons of Yellowstone are currently streaming here with a subscription.