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Yellowstone is one of the biggest shows in America, and it was almost an HBO series before the network ultimately passed for one crazy reason.
In a profile for The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor Sheridan, and HBO's former programming president Michael Lombardo reflected on the origins of Yellowstone. Initially, the series was pitched as “The Godfather in Montana,” and Lombardo was supportive of the idea.
But one stipulation was that Yellowstone needed a “big star” in the lead role. Sheridan pitched Kevin Costner, who would end up starring in the series, but HBO “didn't see it” and had another name in mind.
“They said, ‘We want Robert Redford,” Sheridan revealed. “They said, ‘If you can get us Robert Redford, we'll greenlight the pilot.'”
Somehow, Sheridan pulled it off. “I drive to Sundance and spend the day with him and he agrees to play John Dutton. I call the senior vice president in charge of production and say, ‘I got him!' ‘You got who?' ‘Robert Redford.' ‘What?!' You said if I got Robert Redford, you'd greenlight the show,'” Sheridan recalled.
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He continued, “And he says — and you can't make this s**t up — ‘We meant a Robert Redford type.'”
HBO ultimately passed, Sheridan says that the vice president said, “Look, it just feels so Middle America. We're HBO, we're avant-garde, we're trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I've got to be honest, I don't think anyone should be living out there [in rural Montana]. It should be a part or something.”
Yellowstone ended up finding a home in Paramount and has run for five seasons. There was drama between Taylor Sheridan and the series lead Kevin Costner, but there is a bevy of existing and forthcoming Yellowstone spinoffs, so the legacy and world will continue.
