‘Yellowstone’ actors say they’ll miss Utah — but the ‘extremely chaotic’ family drama will continue
The cast of “Yellowstone” is preparing to return to work next month. However, for the first time since the show went into production in 2017, the movie will not be filmed in Utah.
And the actors are all a little melancholy about it.
“Park City has been our home for many years,” Kelsey Asbille, who plays Monica Dutton, told The Salt Lake Tribune. “We just love that community. We were really sad to leave.”
Utah “has almost become a second home for a lot of us,” said Luke Grimes, who plays Monica’s on-screen husband, Kayce Dutton. I was there five, six months a year. Since we won’t be going back there, that’s a sad thing.”
During its first three seasons, “Yellowstone” — which became a hit — was filmed primarily in Utah. Series co-creator, writer and frequent director Taylor Sheridan has said that the series “probably” would have been filmed entirely in the Beehive State if more time had been given to set the scene for Season 1.
But because producers only had two months from when Paramount Network ordered the show to the start of production, filming began on the Chief Joseph Ranch in Montana. Sets imitating that farm were built at Utah Film Studios in Park City, and 70% to 75% of the show’s first three seasons were filmed in and around Park City—with occasional trips to other regions of the state. But then the manufacturers ran away. into two problems. First, the state’s limited movie incentives budget means Utah can’t offer the same discounts on “Yellowstone” as it did in its first three seasons — but Montana can.
(Utah’s incentives return a portion of money spent on goods and services purchased in the state – as well as salaries for Utahns in cast or crew – to producers. The Incentives generate revenue for the state, by providing products spent and taxed that exceed the cost of the incentive and provide jobs for Utahns.)
And second, “Yellowstone” producers believe they have a better chance of isolating the cast and crew from the COVID-19 outbreak in sparsely populated Montana.
“Well, quarantine is easier in Montana,” Grimes said. “We will do it.” The plan calls for cast and crew members to spend two weeks quarantining in Montana before filming begins. After that, people will be confined to the area. If a team member leaves for any reason, he or she will not be allowed to return to work.
“Going forward, we are looking at how we operate in a post-COVID world, making sure we are as safe as possible,” Asbille said. “Really hard. We are all looking forward to getting back to work but in the safest way. … But we also really wanted to get back to Utah.”
“Sometimes this is just how this business works,” Grimes said. “It’s like joining the circus. I never know where I will be. You just have to roll with the punches and hope everything goes well and we can find a way to restart this safely in Montana.
By necessity, Season 4 of “Yellowstone” will be a little less sprawling than Seasons 1-3, with the plot largely (if not entirely) confined to the farm. Of course, the (fictional) farm is huge – John Dutton (Kevin Costner) is the patriarch of a family that owns the largest contiguous farm in America. And the family has been forced to fight developers, elected officials and a Native American tribe to maintain control of its land.
It can be said that a lot of people have died in the 34 episodes that have aired so far. And that the Dutton family has had more drama.
That included John’s youngest son. Kayce is a former Navy SEAL haunted by events that happened while he was in the military. He returned to Montana and married Monica – a member of the Native American tribe who had been a thorn in John Dutton’s side.
There are certain challenges in the relationship when a dispute between the husband’s family and the wife’s tribe leads to the husband killing his wife’s brother in the first episode of the series. But that was only after the wife’s brother killed her husband’s brother first.
“It definitely makes things complicated,” Asbille said with a laugh.
Navigating both an interracial marriage and the kind of dysfunction that only a wealthy, powerful, politically connected family like the Duttons could create has left Kayce and Monica struggling. . They were separated; Monica had brain surgery and the recovery was difficult; and their young son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), is kidnapped.
“I love Kayce and Monica’s relationship and the family
we became real friends in real life quite quickly,” he said. “And it’s made navigating this relationship much easier.”
“We definitely really root for these characters,” Asbille added.
