Crews transforms Venus into backdrop for 'Yellowstone' series
VENUS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Crews have been hard at work transforming a North Texas town into the perfect backdrop for scenes of the hit drama "Yellowstone."
The series will be filming in Venus tomorrow.
"They've repainted some stuff on the square, changed the names of some of the buildings to match what you'd see in Montana in their episode," said Chief Richard Allen with the Venus Fire Department.
The Venus town square will be the Montana town of Hardin. Mexican restaurant Casa Jacaranda is now the Zion Café - at least from the outside.
"People have been asking if we've gone out of business because they changed the front, like are you still Casa Jacaranda?" said owner Anabel Cruz. "And we're like yes."
The historic look of the square is a big draw for the production, which follows the drama surrounding a Montana cattle ranch and the family who owns it. It's reported 8.8 million viewers tuned into Sunday night's season five premiere, which is a 10 percent increase from last season.
"It's very exciting for our small town," Chief Allen said. "We've had other movies filmed here, but this one is pretty much the biggest we've had so far."
"Yellowstone" asked people who live in Venus and the surrounding areas to be extras in the shoot, and hundreds are expected to take part.
"I think it will give people a chance to come in and see what our town has to offer," said Allen.
Kevin Costner, the lead actor in the show, will likely be there for the filming.
The Venus Police Department is bringing in extra officers to deal with the street closures and the crowds.
All of the streets in the town square, along with some of the surrounding roads, will be shut down for the day. There will be sporadic closures of FM 157 as well.