There's a great interview on Deadline with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan in which he recounts the confused TV execs in the room as they screened the final episode of Yellowstone prequel 1883 and realised Sheridan had killed most of the characters in the show. The execs had every right to be confused: they had already picked up the show for a second season.

This is what led to new spin-off sequel/prequel 1923. Sheridan explains how he got Harrison Ford to sign up for the new show:

I said, we’re going to do this thing together. He goes, can I read a script? I said, you can when it’s written, but it ain’t written yet and you got to commit to it now. I need to know who I’m writing for. I’m done wondering who I’m writing for, and I have to go try to chase the person I had in my mind and I can’t get the person because they’re doing some fu*king Netflix show. I don’t do that shit anymore.

So, are you going to do it or are you going to watch Chris Cooper do the next great thing? What do you want to do? I poured about two bottles of wine down him. He said yes. I got him on the plane as fast as I could, closed the deal and said, send me the next one. Then came Helen, and same thing. Have a glass of wine.

He also says some episodes of the show cost over $30 million. It's a handsome show, sure. But... how?

Taylor Sheridan On How The Harrison Ford-Helen Mirren Ratings Record Setter ‘1923’ Came After Network’s Shocking Realization The Cast Of Freshly Renewed ‘1883’ Was Dead
EXCLUSIVE: If the record launch-episode ratings of 1923 reveals anything, it is that viewing audiences on both Paramount+ and the Paramount Network have an endless appetite for Taylor Sheridan’s fr…
DeadlineMike Fleming Jr
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Velma debuts Jan 12 on HBO Max.

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That's it for today. Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I am still short one gift... and three packages I'm watching nervously...