'Yellowstone' cast continues to tease surprises leading up to season finale

Actor Cole Hauser has listened to some fan theories about the final episodes of the American neo-Western TV series "Yellowstone" - and is not afraid to tell them they're wrong.

“This show and what they think this season is going to be - everybody has their opinion of it,” said Hauser, who plays a ranch foreman named Rip Wheeler.

“And to be quite honest, none of them are right,” he added.

Some cast members were even in the dark about the ending, as the team behind the show redated scripts to preserve it.

FILE PHOTO: Cast member Cole Hauser poses at a premiere party for season 2 of the television series "Yellowstone" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Season five was split into two parts. The final six episodes, which will wrap up the show, began airing on the Paramount Network PARA.O on Sunday for U.S. fans and premiered in Britain on Monday.

After its debut in 2018, "Yellowstone" became the top-rated scripted show in the United States and spawned two spinoff series.

The show follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, often dubbed "the Yellowstone." Stars include Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, and Kelly Reilly.

The story centers around family drama at the ranch, the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, and Yellowstone National Park.

In “Yellowstone” season five, part 2, the power struggles for expansion continue.

FILE PHOTO: Cast member Kelly Reilly poses at a premiere party for season 2 of the television series "Yellowstone" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

The final episodes will be without the show’s main star, Kevin Costner. Costner played patriarch John Dutton and announced his departure from the show in May 2023. The cast called his departure both energizing and disheartening.

Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, found that the media’s spin on Costner’s exit was full of “untruths.”

“The way that Taylor (Sheridan) has ended this season is the way he always intended it to. ... So, there was a small pivot that had to happen sooner, but it energized us creatively,” she said.