Not-so-cool beans! Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan sues series star Cole Hauser over coffee drama

Stop the French presses! Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, and other hit shows about the Dutton family, filed a lawsuit against Yellowstone star Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler, over their competing coffee companies, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Yep, you read that correctly. It's all about the coffee. Sheridan's coffee company, Bosque Ranch, features a logo that looks like cattle brands and features a "BR." The lawsuit claims Hauser's coffee company, which is called Free Rein and also features its initials in a cattle brand design, is "trademark infringement," according to the report.

Talk about a latte drama! The Hollywood Reporter didn't mention where the suit goes from here, but we'll all be waiting to find out what's next from the land of Yellowstone. Production on the remaining episodes of season 5 is expected to begin in the spring of 2024. As of right now, Hauser is expected to be back as Rip, although there are reports that claim his character could be in jeopardy in the final episodes of the series.

Look, I'm not a lawyer or a judge; I'm just a fan of Yellowstone, and I have to venti for a minute. All of this is rather depressing. Sure, the logos do look similar and are in the same western-themed coffee space. Each brand features its benefactor rocking cowboy attire and drinking out of a coffee mug. It might be an infringement, but that's not for us to decide.

Maybe, there's something here, legally. Maybe, this is more of an indictment of coffee marketing. Maybe, we can blame fans and customers for only, apparently, wanting to buy coffee from cowboy men drinking out of mugs from brand logos that look like cattle brands. Maybe, it's a combination of all three.

What I do know is there's just a lot of smoke coming from the Yellowstone universe, and we all know there's fire there with the drama between star Kevin Costner, Sheridan, and the studio about Yellowstone season 5. It's just a shame that this all happening while this connected web of shows is atop the TV universe at the moment. We all know the bubble doesn't last forever.

The absolute funniest thing about this coffee drama, which was pointed out by THR, is that Costner also has his own coffee blend/company, called Horizon Blend, from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and the marketing features Costner wearing a cowboy hat and drinking out of a mug.

So, I learned two things: one, coffee marketing needs to step its game up, and two, everyone in Yellowstone has their own cowboy coffee. Hopefully, they can sort all this out over a cup of joe, but that's a tall order for this grande problem.

Stay tuned for more news about Yellowstone season 5. The new episodes premiere in November 2024.