The series, which launched Taylor Sheridan’s mega-successful franchise and seems to spawn a spinoff every other month, can’t possibly be turned loose on broadcast television unedited. That would be the equivalent of offering a seat at a tea party to Kelly Reilly’s human wrecking ball, Beth Dutton. The show is sure to still be wild and crazy, down and dirty, just maybe… you know, a little bit less so.
What is likeliest to end up on the cutting-room floor — or would that be the recutting-room floor? — as Yellowstone transitions to CBS? Keep scrolling, and we’ll review a handful of the key areas that are going to need more adjusting than a poorly cinched saddle. Press Next
F-Bombs Away
Some poor CBS censor is all but guaranteed to get finger strain from pushing the “bleep” button over and over (and over!) to remove Yellowstone’s many four-letter words. They are so abundant that the show could have been titled This Is Cuss.
Time's Up
Network dramas tend to clock in at about 42 minutes per episode. Yellowstone‘s have run as short as 37 and as long as 92. So, either CBS will make exceptions, allowing programming to start/end at odd times, or something will have to give.
Bare Necessities
Considering that Yellowstone is freer with nudity than CBS would ever be, some skin-toned pixelating is in store — perhaps like what Peacock did to safely upload Beth’s Season 1 bath to YouTube.
Violence Doesn't Solve Anything
Yellowstone wouldn’t be Yellowstone without its shoot-’em-ups and beatdowns. But some of its more extreme moments — i.e., the Beck brothers’ Season 2 assault of Beth, and Walker’s removal of Wade’s brand from his chest in Season 3 — may need… reconsidering.
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Speaking in Tongues
It’s a running joke that the bunkhouse boys need a Teeter-to-English dictionary to understand a word that the marble-mouthed wrangler says. But for CBS’ audience, it might not be a bad idea to just go ahead and give her subtitles.
As majestic as the horses are on Yellowstone, we could do with less aimless riding around — certainly less than in Season 4, when every other episode seemed to include a montage of fancy hoofworks. On second thought, maybe this one is less a change that will be needed to bring the show to CBS and more just, ya know, one that will be wanted.
