Filming Yellowstone in Montana is no joke. The cast goes through cowboy camp, they deal with the harsh seasons that come with the state, and they do a great job of showing off Montana’s beauty through the ranching scenes. Now, we’re seeing a whole new side of ranching as Rip and some of the bunkhouse moved to Texas with the herd. That meant production moved to Texas too, and Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly told me about the challenges that came with filming in this new environment.
Ahead of Yellowstone’s Season 5B premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, I spoke to Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser about Rip and Beth’s story. That included us chatting about their characters making their way to Texas to help save the Yellowstone’s cows. Both actors didn’t hold back when it came to the big challenges of filming in The Lone Star State, and Reilly even explained that they had to have a snake wrangler on set:
There's a lot more snakes in Texas. We had a snake wrangler, and they found a bunch of them. All the big rattlesnakes and the tarantulas. Like, I'm from South London. Like, the most scary thing in England is a stinging nettle.
Yes, you read that right, they had a snake wrangler. That’s honestly wild to think about. However, after seeing the Season 5B premiere, it makes sense. The harsh conditions of Texas are directly addressed in the show as Rip and the cowboys are warned about the wind, and they have quite the experience with a scorpion on their first night out there.
Along with the various reptiles and arachnids the Yellowstone cast dealt with, they also had to face the elements too, as Cole Hauser said:
It's hot as hell there, too.
Reilly agreed with his point, reiterating how hot it was down South. Then, the Rip actor really painted a picture of just how hard it was to beat the heat, especially for him, as he said:
I’m in all black, black beaver [hat], black shirt, black chaps. I mean, it was 110. Unbelievable.
As Reilly wrote when she announced she was filming in Texas earlier this year, they faced the “dry heat” when they were down there, and that’s truly brutal. During my interview with her and Hauser for CinemaBlend, she made that point again, this time by comparing their locations to the “savannah of Africa:”
We were there for – [Cole was] there longer than me, I only did a few days in Texas. But we were filming on the 6666 Ranch out near Guthrie. Amarillo. And it was just this expansive land you feel like you're in the savannah of Africa.
Yep, that heat really is no joke, and that became even more obvious when Hauser told me that everyone lost weight while they were working there. He explained that they couldn’t keep weight on and they trying to drink as much water as they possibly could:
You can’t even keep weight on either. I mean, everybody lost weight out there. We were riding and chasing cows. I mean, you're just every day, trying to drink as much water as you can. Salt tablets. But, very cool, though, to be out there in 6666. I mean, it's a legendary ranch.
As the actor pointed out at the end, while it was difficult to film in The Lone Star State it was also “very cool.” The 6666 Ranch in the show is a real ranch, and it’s legendary. So, having part of this new chapter of Yellowstone take place there is epic. Plus, it adds a new flavor and location to this already expansive world.
To see more of Rip, Beth and the bunkhouse’s scenes in Texas as well as their stories in Montana, you can watch new episodes of Yellowstone every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on the Paramount Network. To go back and see the first four and a half seasons that all took place in Big Sky Country, you can stream them with a Peacock subscription.
