Here’s a sign that the relationship between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan isn’t going great: On Instagram a couple months ago, Costner’s longtime assistant/associate Glenn Kleczkowski posted the following review of Sheridan’s Sylvester Stallone mobster show, Tulsa King: “Stick to westerns, bro. You don’t know SHIT about THIS life. Stay in your lane, country boy. I’m actually embarrassed for you as a writer and creator.”

Nice. The missive about the hit series—which, I’m told, made its way to Sheridan, Paramount Media Networks president and C.E.O. Chris McCarthy, and others on the Yellowstone team before it was deleted—only exacerbated what has become a frayed and possibly severed relationship between Paramount’s cash-cow Sheridan machine and Costner, the star of the biggest show on television. So when rumors leaked earlier this month that Yellowstone may end after its current fifth season because Costner is locked in a standoff over his shooting dates, few associated with the show were surprised. The battle lines had been drawn.