With Kevin Costner not returning to Yellowstone for the remaining episodes of season 5, a new promo seems to be leaning into the mystery of just how his exit will be addressed come November.

While it likely won’t be a “Who shot J.R.?” moment — Costner’s John Dutton has been shot on the show before — the show’s cast and crew, including Kelly Asbille (Monica), Denim Richards (Colby), Jennifer Landon (Teeter) and director Christina Voros, spoke about how tight conditions were. 

Asbille commented, “There was a lot of security around the script, and the narrative,” with Landon saying, “We get these redacted scripts. Basically everything is blacked out except for your lines.”

Richards offered that “the audience will see real reactions” from the actors, because they don’t know what’s coming, either.

Voros expressed, “It’s a huge testament to the intrepidness of the crew, because you’ve learned how to do something a certain way for seven years, and all of a sudden have a new set of challenges that come from protecting the story for the sake of the audience.”

That said, Kelly Reilly (Beth) said, “I just feel so grateful. There’s a lot of laughter on our set.” Her onscreen love Rip, played by Cole Hauser, also put a positive spin on it, considering reported tensions that led to Costner’s decision not to return. “This year, there were fun times on set. This is the greatest office in the world,” he said. 

Voros also teases the cast was “at the absolute top of their game.” 

But brace yourselves, Yellowstone fans: Rip, Beth, and her adopted brother and archenemy Jamie (Wes Bentley) are seen in tears, and her onscreen brother Kacee (Luke Grimes) said the episodes “brought me to tears.” 

Yellowstone returns Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.

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