It’s tough to see your hometown portrayed in television and movies. New Englanders roll their eyes at overly quaint shots of church steeples and fall foliage. Minnesotans balk at the over-the-top accents in ‘Fargo.’ And now Montanans are struggling with the way the state is portrayed in the hit television series ‘Yellowstone.’

The show stars Kevin Costner as the gravelly-voiced patriarch of the Dutton ranching family. They own a sprawling cattle operation on the edge of Yellowstone National Park and they will do whatever it takes – including a whole lot of murder – to protect their way of life from wealthy outsiders. 

But in the real world, Montanans are accusing the show of attracting wealthy outsiders to move to the state and change their way of life. Since the show first aired in 2018, home prices have nearly doubled, and – anecdotally – real estate agents are leaning on Yellowstone’s appeal to sell property. 

Host Nate Hegyi and Rebecca Lavoie, television critic and head of podcasts at NHPR, dive deep into how a fake show is changing a very real place and what ‘Yellowstone’ gets right – and wrong – about Native Americans, women, and the West. 

Featuring: Taylar Stagner, Maggie Slepian

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LINKS

As of December 2023, Certain Women is currently streaming for free on Tubi. 

You can find Taylar Stagner’s criticism on books, television and more at High Country News. 

Maggie Slepian wrote an essay about the impact of ‘Yellowstone’ on her hometown of Bozeman for Outside magazine. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

The Outside/In team includes Felix Poon and Justine Paradise. 
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Northside and Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio