Yellowstone is meant to take place on one of the most beautiful spots of land in Montana. And with the wide expanse of the Dutton ranch, it’s integral that each part of the Yellowstone set lives up to a certain standard.
Luckily, the TV series has some of the best creatives in the game, including set decorator Carly Curry, who has worked on creating some of the most important locations on what we now know to be one of the best drama series. And quite frankly, there are few locations more important than Yellowstone’s bunkhouse.
It turns out one member of the Yellowstone cast in particular had a big input in the bunkhouse’s design: Forrie J. Smith, who plays Rip’s right hand… well, hand. Smith stars as Lloyd, one of the oldest and wisest hands of the bunch, and is usually shaking his head at some of the younger and more brazen cowboys.
“We don’t do fake on Yellowstone, and the bunkhouse is everyone’s favorite set,” Curry said [via Deadline]. “Forrie Smith, who plays Lloyd in our show, he is the real deal, a cowboy who lived that life. When we started putting our details into this, I had a pretty good sense of how cowboys live because I live with one.”
“But talking to Forrie, he was able to give us a lot of little details you wouldn’t think of. Like the bottle of Tylenol by his bed, for his arthritis, the snuff cans that are all over the place, the Louis L’Amour paperbacks.”
Those who have seen the Western-inspired TV show will be familiar with the bunkhouse. Many a scene has played out there since it’s the home of all the Yellowstone ranch hands. There have been countless brawls and endless games of poker taking place in that very building, so as far as Yellowstone lore goes, it’s pretty significant.
But it wasn’t supposed to be that way. In fact, the bunkhouse design ended up being so impressive, that series creator Taylor Sheridan vowed to write more scenes to take place inside it. Without the incredible dedication to craft, we may not have seen much of the bunkhouse at all.
“When Taylor walked in for the first time, he was kind of blown away,” Curry added. “He only had a few scenes written for that, but once he saw what was there, he brought it. He said, ‘I definitely need more scenes in the bunkhouse.'”
For more matters in ranching, take a look at our guides for the 1883 season 2 release date, the Yellowstone season 5 part 2 release date, and the 6666 release date. You can also get to know the Yellowstone timeline, and take a look at why James Osborne hated the Yellowstone movie but eventually changed his mind. Don’t forget about everything new on Paramount Plus this month, too.