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‘Yellowstone’ Star Kevin Costner’s ‘National Parks’ Idea Rebooted Without His Involvement at ABC

Last summer, ABC passed on “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner‘s National Parks show, which he was set to produce. Except now, they’re moving forward with the show — sans Costner.

According to Variety, Costner was supposed to co-write and executive produce “National Parks Investigation” for ABC. The show would follow a “small group of elite NPS agents as they solve these crimes while protecting America’s national parks.”

Aaron Helbing and Jon Baird were also set to co-write and produce “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner’s national parks show. But now, per Deadline, ABC has picked up the show with new creative leaders at the forefront. Instead of Costner, Rashad Raisani from Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star” will helm the show.

Raisani’s version of the national parks series will be a “soapy procedural,” per the outlet. “It revolves around the tangled, messy lives of the agents who work for the ISB — an elite law-enforcement unit responsible for solving all serious crimes that occur in our country’s 81,000 square miles of protected land.”

The ISB stands for the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch. From the sound of it, the show will follow a similar path to what Kevin Costner had envisioned. It’s unclear why ABC dropped his version and picked up Raisani’s. But hopefully, the new series sheds some much-needed light on the national parks and why they need protecting.

‘Yellowstone’ Star Kevin Costner Signs on to Produce New Docuseries

Perhaps ABC’s rejection of Costner’s National Parks series was for the better. Because it likely allowed the “Yellowstone” star to sign on for another project, this time with 44 Blue Productions. The docuseries, called “Onward,” highlights different Indigenous communities around the world in each episode.

“Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner will executive produce the series, along with Monitor & Merrimack Pictures’ Glenn Kleczkowski and Mark Gillard. Cale Glendening will also executive produce. He first created a docuseries called “Onward” that chronicled these communities, and his work served as inspiration for Costner’s project.

Per Variety, “Onward” will focus on “how [different Indigenous] people, land and cultures have endured existential threats such as climate change, commercial development, and the pandemic” over time.

When the outlet broke the news about the project, “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner shared the article on Twitter. “This one is close to my heart. Can’t wait to share it with you. Read more about #Onward at the link below,” he wrote.

The other executive producers, Glenn Kleczkowski and Mark Gillard, said, “As the world around us continues to shrink, it is our responsibility to not only celebrate Indigenous people around the globe, but to help document and preserve their customs and ways of life. To do so in partnership with Kevin Costner and 44 Blue as well as the amazingly talented Smriti Mundhra and Cale Glendening is a dream come true.”