'Yellowstone' Fans Criticize Alleged Product Placement in Show
Yellowstone fans have shared their disappointment with the perceived obvious product placement in the most recent episode of the hit show, pointing out that co-creator and writer Taylor Sheridan's liquor brand was given a lot of airtime.
The Western drama, created by Sheridan and John Linson, premiered in 2018 on the Paramount+ streaming service and quickly became a major hit. It follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton ( Kevin Costner ), who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the U.S., and their battle to defend their land and lifestyle against constant threats.
Season 5, Part 1 of Yellowstone aired from November 2022 to January 2023, with the second half of the last season having debuted on November 10, 2024. Now viewers have taken to social media to air their grievances of episode 10 titled "The Apocalypse of Change," which aired November 17.
During the episode, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) takes Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) away for a night in a hotel room. When they decide to go for a drink at the bar the bartender holds a bottle of 6666's Four Sixes Vodka, with the camera lingering on it.
Sheridan is the owner of the 6666 Ranch, a ranch spanning 350,000 acres in King County, Texas, as well as Carson County and Hutchinson County. He also owns the beverage company 6666 Grit & Glory, which distributes vodka cocktails and beer.
However, there is no concrete evidence that there has been deliberate product placement in the show, and Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Sheridan for comment on Monday.
"The blatant product placement for the vodka was laughably clumsy and shameless. Sheridan is really all about the benjamins these days," one user wrote on Reddit .
"This is a disjointed mess. At best, it's a promo for 6666 and its products." another said.
"Only Taylor Sheridan making himself dizzy on a horse could save this episode. This comment was brought to you by 6666 Vodka," someone else joked.
"Taylor really wants to make sure you go and get $98 steaks and $30 sides at the 6666 steakhouse in Vegas. I'm not making up those prices," a fourth person commented.
A fifth person added: "I think Yellowstone has only actually been five minutes. The rest has been commercials."
People have also taken to X, formerly Twitter , to express their disappointment.
"Am I the only one confused on this timeline???" one person wrote, to which someone responded: "Nope they are just pushing 6666 product placement and destroying a beautiful show."
Someone else added: "So far, this season of #Yellowstone has a ridiculous amount of product placement, mostly Taylor Sheridan's brands. It's way too noticeable and forced."
Vodka isn't the only product that has been shown in the neo-Western drama. Various products from the clothing brands Carhartt and Wrangler—which have both collaborated with the show previously—have been shown throughout the program's run.
Coors, a beer brand owned by Molson Coors Brewing, has also been prominent in Yellowstone. Characters can be seen holding the beer, which is marketed on signs across the show's version of Montana , in multiple scenes.
Other brands that have been shown include, but are not limited to, Apple , Dell, Stetson hats and Ram Trucks.
While fans may be upset with the product placement, according to star Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, they will at least be "satisfied" with the show's conclusion .
"I think true to Yellowstone's form, [viewers] won't be able to see it coming. I feel like that's the kind of beauty of Taylor's [Sheridan] writing and it's always so surprising. It's never what you thought it was going to be," he previously told Newsweek.
"But I think everyone will be really satisfied with, you know, if I would have tried to come up with an ending, I never would have come up with this one, but it's the perfect one. Because I'm clearly not a writer and even if I was, it would not be as good as Taylor.
"But yeah, I think it'll just be very satisfying because it's, I mean, that's what you want. That's what you want. And the ending of a great show is something unpredictable and satisfying."
