Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) may not be a part of Yellowstone anymore, but this doesn’t mean that he has to stay away from the real-life territory. This week, Fox Nation announced that the two-time Oscar winner will serve as host and executive producer of Yellowstone to Yosemite, a three-part docuseries that is coming to our screens sooner rather than later: the first episode drops on February 8.
The connections of the docuseries with the Taylor Sheridan hit series pretty much end at the title. In Yellowstone to Yosemite, Costner will follow the path described in the title, which is the trajectory that former president Theodore Roosevelt made back in 1903, in an expedition guided by environmental advocate John Muir. The first-hand contact with the locations is what prompted Roosevelt to protect Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove and make them part of the national park.
In an official statement, Costner explained what drew him to the project and the aspects that he likes most about it:
“Once in a while, you come across a story that has that truly special mix of elements; it’s stranger than fiction and happens against all odds. It results in something that legitimately changes the world for the good and, most importantly, it all really happened. The story of President Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir’s camping trip through Yosemite is one of those truly special ones, and I’m excited to dig into the next chapter of the preservation of the American frontier.”
Yellowstone Docuseries Will Touch On Some Of America’s Open Wounds
Yellowstone to Yosemite will also explore the Indigenous American legacy of the region and chronicle how they dealt with the arrival of invaders in 1850. Throughout the docuseries, Costner will offer his own takes on Roosevelt and Muir’s expedition, as well as — according to the series synopsis — how Roosevelt’s intervention culminated in the establishment of a more structured National Park System, the creation of 150 National Forests, 5 National Parks, and the preservation and protection of 230 million acres of precious land.
Fox Nation president Lauren Petterson stated that Costner was chosen as host due to his “unique ability to capture the American experience.” This is precisely what the actor and director did on his latest project. Horizon: The American Saga is an ambitious epic that Costner wrote, starred and directed. The six-hour project chronicles fifteen years of the expansion and colonization of the American West before and after the Civil War. Costner also previously partnered up with Fox Nation to make Yellowstone: One-Fifty, a similar 2022 docuseries that took the actor to the wildest terrain of Yellowstone National Park.