Yellowstone Star Luke Grimes has revealed that Kevin Costner’s departure made the final installment of the hit western series the “easiest season we’ve ever filmed”.

Costner’s time on Taylor Sheridan’s series ended in controversy after reports that the actor quit because he wanted to start his own Western franchise Horizon – An American Saga instead.

His character, the Dutton family patriarch John Dutton III, was recently killed off in the second part of the fifth and final season.

In conversation with esquireGrimes – who plays John’s son Kayce Dutton – said: “Hopefully everyone can see that it was about time.”

He continued: “To be completely honest, it meant that part of Kevin was gone, that part of the conflict was gone. Obviously it wasn’t much fun to be here. I don’t want to point fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve ever filmed.”

Grimes also said he felt Sheridan gave his character a satisfying ending, adding: “It feels like good timing. Seven years is a long time to do anything, and I had never played a character for more than a few months.

“I loved everything. But there is a part of it that – if you read the final episodes – realizes that there is a finality.”

The show’s finale airs this Sunday, December 15th on the Paramount network.

While Yellowstone will come to an end, Sheridan isn’t done with Montana yet. He recently announced that Michelle Pfeiffer will be directing the upcoming film Yellowstone sequel series, The Madison. The new series follows a New York family that moves to the Madison River Valley in central Montana. It is said to deal with themes such as grief and human connection.

A release date for The Madison has not yet been announced.

Earlier this year, Grimes said The Independent He was frustrated by the politicization of Yellowstone.

“I think a lot of people see a cowboy hat and a horse and think, ‘Oh, that’s not for me, these people believe differently,'” he said.

“And it’s almost as if they’re attributing these flawed characters on the show to some kind of strange belief that they’ve instilled in them.

“In the meantime, you can have a terrible person like (Consequence‘s) Logan Roy, who lives in an apartment in Manhattan, and that’s fine. The guy is a total bastard! But that’s okay. This is so funny to me because… I just don’t understand why this is immediately equated with a political belief. And I don’t think that’s the case.”