The Most Popular Show in America Just Got Disastrous News

The show is losing its most important asset.

As the WGA Writers Strike continues to wage war on streaming and entertainment, the last thing TV watchers need right now is more bad news. 

The strikes, which have long been anticipated (but staved off, until now) are intended to address disruption in the film and television industry thanks to the onslaught of streaming. More streamers mean more options, and newer, fresher content. Because there are so many streamers constantly churning out new stuff, there are fewer reruns, specifically on cable. 

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Less reruns mean writers are no longer making much in residuals now that streaming services have largely replaced reruns. 

So it goes without saying that entertainment executives, some of which are being blasted for egregiously high pay as writers grapple with decreasing payouts, are on the hot seat. 

One of the leaders on the hot seat -- Paramount Pictures  (PARA) - Get Free Report CEO Brian Robbins. The streamer's star series "Yellowstone" has become America's most popular show. 

"Yellowstone," which stars Kevin Costner, was the most watched television show in 2022 and the most-watched cable premiere since "The Walking Dead" in 2017. It brought in almost 16 million viewers for its season 5 premier on Sunday night in November 2022, and interestingly, in the key younger audience demo, viewership was up nearly 60% during the premiere. 

Yellowstone Loses a Central Figure

"Yellowstone" clearly had a lot of room to grow, but it's losing one of its most important assets before it hits critical mass.

According to a new report, Kevin Costner, who plays main character John Dutton in the western series, will not return to the series following a dispute about filming schedules and more. Costner is also going through a divorce with wife of 18 years Christine Baumgartner. 

"The popular television western “Yellowstone” with Kevin Costner will end this fall and be replaced almost immediately by a sequel. The sequel, still untitled, will premiere in December on the Paramount cable network," the AP tweeted on Friday. 

Production was still underway for the remainder of season 5.  Now it must wrap in November, with an unnamed sequel slotted to take its place as soon as December. It's not clear whether Costner will appear in the remaining episodes of "Yellowstone."