New lawsuit in Texas brings more potential behind-the-scenes drama to Yellowstone.
After a year of back-and-forth between the camps of Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan, there’s more behind-the-scenes drama for Yellowstone. Literally brewing down in Texas: a lawsuit involving Sheridan and his show’s hard-scrabble heartthrob who plays Rip Wheeler — Cole Hauser. And they won’t likely settle this issue over a cup of joe.
Why’s that? Well the lawsuit in question is all about coffee. You know, the beverage that gets ranch hands like the fictional Rip going every early morning? It seems that Hauser’s coffee venture, Free Rein Coffee Company, is using a logo that feels too familiar to Bosque Ranch Headquarters LLC, long associated with Sheridan. One might wonder why there’s an issue between a coffee company and a ranch group. Well, said ranch group has launched its own line of coffee, and therein lies the problem. Sheridan’s ranch had partnered with the increasingly-Western-focused Community brand to produce Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee.
View this post on Instagram
With both men serving as spokesmen and actively promoting their respective coffee brands to the Yellowstone-friendly cowboy crowd, things were bound to get interesting.
The suit filed recently in federal court in San Angelo, Texas, “alleges that the defendants used a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch's registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers,” according to San Angelo Live.
Both logos employ intertwined letters in the typical styling of a cattle brand. See the Bosque logo and the Free Rein logo below, for reference.
Sheridan and Community launched Bosque’s brand in June; Hauser and his partners made Free Rein available in October after repurposing San Angelo’s Longhorn Coffee and announcing in August.
It is unclear whether the latest legal development between the two coffee brands will affect the filming of Yellowstone’s final episodes next year. We’re guessing the cast and crew will rise above any unrelated business disputes, but you never know.
View this post on Instagram
In the meantime, Yellowstone’s popularity has grown to even greater heights while it’s been airing on CBS, so there’s no telling what kind of audience will be tuning in for those final hours.
We know one thing’s for sure: medium roast bags of Free Rein and Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee are headed to our door now. While you can read more about the lawsuit here, we’re not willing to take sides when it comes to coffee. On our ranch, more coffee means fewer problems.
Dig deeper into C&I’s Yellowstone coverage here, with interviews, podcasts, recaps, and fashion tips.