Let's start off by saying that this in NOT on Netflix. I do watch other things and lately, because of their ever-increasing agenda (I'll leave it up to you to determine what that is) I mostly just use Netflix for mindless "channel surfing" when I can't think of anything that I want to watch intentionally.

Yellowstone is on the Paramount Network and thus far I have only watched one season. I think it is reasonably entertaining and Kevin Costner puts on a wonderful performance. It probably helps that I have been a Costner fan for a very long time and enjoy seeing him in just about anything.

src

This show was first presented to me in an IN PERSON CONVERSATION, if you can imagine that people still do that, and they talked about how Kevin Costner is a family head in what is basically a mafia type operation but in an unlikely location: Montana.

I remember really enjoying alternate mob-style films and series and this is part of the reason why I really enjoyed Fargo the series. I was a bit devastated to find out that the claims of Fargo being a true story was all a bunch of BS and honestly, that became a bit evident as the series went on. Yellowstone is not attempting to claim that it is a real story, but there are some parts inside of the show that kind of makes sense such as the land up there being some of the most valuable in the world, yet most people don't even think about it.

src

Now I don't know if the claims about the land being super valuable is true or not, but some of the scenery that we are privy to throughout season 1 certainly indicates that it would be. I just think that the really harsh winters might be a bit of a turnoff for some people.

I also found out that the series is actually filmed in both Montana and Utah so I don't really know what to think about the location shots, but they are all pretty damn stunning.

The story showcases John Dutton who is played by Kevin Costner as he struggles with land-developers and local Indian reservation authorities over the land rights. He owns a tremendous amount of very valuable land and is completely unwilling to let go of it at any price. Certain people attempt to trick him out of this and he, at times, has to resort to less-than-legal methods of getting his way. This is where the tension in the episodes is created, and for the most part they do a really good job of it.

src

The people in the show know that the Duttons are not to be messed with and they wield a tremendous amount of power in this family and are very well-connected to politicians that ensure that they continue to get their way. However, there are some troubles that they encounter along the way such as the Indian reservation, and its authorities, not being subject to United States laws.

The Duttons have a team of thugs that do their bidding off the books if need be. This is where the show is most interesting and I have no idea if this sort of situation actually exists in real life, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

There are many out there that say that this show is worth watching for the scenery alone and I can agree with that, the areas they film in are just awe-inspiring. The story for the most part is really good although it has the same problem that i find plagues many series out there: It is just too damn long and has sooooooo much filler that you spend an entire hour waiting for something like 10 minutes of excitement.

It reminds me of the rise and fall of The Walking Dead: The episodes start out with a 10 minutes basic recap of what was exciting about the episode previous, then there is 40 minutes of nearly nothing happening, and then at the end there is a climactic 10 minutes or so that ends with a cliffhanger thereby basically forcing you to watch the next episode where the process repeats itself all over again.

src
There is also the case of child actor Brecken Merrill who plays Tate Duncan, John Dutton's grandson. This kid is NOT a good actor and a lot of his dialogue and emotional outbursts just seem to not be on the caliber of the rest of the cast. I suppose we should give him a break because he is a kid but mostly I would prefer the story not really revolve around him at all since he isn't good. I am not a fan of child actors in a general sense and i think it is extremely rare that any of them have any sort of real talent. Brecken Merrill is so new to the game that he doesn't even have a Wiki listing yet.

One other thing that annoys me is the long and drawn out monologues that some of the characters have using parables and really clever wording, even when they are drunk. This just seems really impractical. Not everyone on the ranch can be a philosopher, maybe just limit this to 1 or 2 people? Nah, let's have everyone do it!

Should I watch it?

I think that most people will probably enjoy this series and it remains popular enough despite being on a not-so-widespread network that they have already announced a season 3. Nearly 3 million people watch each episode and I don't know if this is enough to justify what is almost certainly an absolutely massive budget per episode. I would imagine that more than 3 million torrent the episodes though.

The very first episode is 1.5 hours long and I think if you find that entertaining, there is a good chance you are going to enjoy the other 8, 1-hour long episodes as well. I really liked it but at times found myself checking my phone because especially towards the middle episodes of 5-7 there is a tremendous amount of what I consider to be unnecessary filler. If you can make it past that, I think there is a really good story here and therefore I recommend it.