Yellowstone season 1

For the longest time, Yellowstone, was that highly acclaimed show tucked way out of reach and could only be purchased digitally until Paramount+ finally came along. Ironically though, I ended watching the first season on Netflix in UHD and am gradually catching up to see what all the fuss is about. Have I found out what caused high energy for one of America's biggest shows upon release? Maybe not but I am getting there.

Set in Montana, the story follows the incredibly wealthy Dutton family who own large swathes of land around the national park and this has made them enemies with rival landowners, the native population and politically as many deem them all too powerful. The family is controlled by Kevin Costner's John Dutton III and utilizes the help of two sons and his daughter to manage various aspects of the ranch, while the third and youngest son refuses to get involved. Instead, he lives with his native American wife and their son away from the Dutton estate but it's not long before conflicts arise.

Paramount and showrunner, Taylor Sheridan, put all the money onscreen to bring the Dutton ranch to life and the nine episodes in the first season make for an interesting watch. It did take me some time to get into the spirit of the show and this will put some off who come via Netflix like myself. However, even if it's not the easiest watch, has some slow moments and some odd musical choices at times, I did find Yellowstone to be quite rewarding and make for a solid drama. 

Anyone who has enjoyed Sheridan's other work with Sicario, Hell or High Water or Wind River (not to mention all his other shows on Paramount), then this will be an easy one to recommend or at least so far. For everyone else, this show will have its moments that will test your patience but if you can give it time and you enjoy it by episode four then I think there is a show here for you. Time will tell how I get along with the next four seasons...