Yellowstone season 5 part 2 return : What happened to Cole Hauter ?

The actor acknowledges that the hit western drama “has touched so much” since its 2018 premiere

Cole Hauser is ready to return to the saddle and bring the second half of Yellowstone’s fifth and final season 5 to life.

The actor, 49, tells PEOPLE he’s “excited to go back to work” after an extended hiatus from filming the hit Paramount Network series.

“It’s been a year and a half,” Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone, says of the last time he was in Montana working on the show. “I’m excited to see my castmates.”

In particular, Hauser notes that he’s “excited” to see costar Kelly Riley, who plays his wife, Beth Dutton, “and work with her” again. The actor also expressed similar feelings about his wishes to “see Taylor [Sheridan] again.”

“I think he’s going to direct some [episodes],” adds Hauser of Sheridan, who created Yellowstone. “So I’m excited about that. Just get back up in Montana and go to work.”

Yellowstone leaves off on Jan. 1, 2023, with Season 5, Episode 8, titled “A Knife and No Coin.” Filming went on hiatus just a few months after due to last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, which lasted until September and November, respectively.

Between a flashback to Rip’s acceptance of a lifelong commitment to Dutton Ranch, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) offering Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and her family a place to live on the ranch and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) filing for his father’s impeachment from him position as governor of Montana, then subsequently going to war with Beth over his lack of loyalty, the lastYellowstone episode to air left plenty of unanswered questions – and concerns regarding who may live or die.

All-in-all, Hauser, tells PEOPLE in support of his Free Rein Coffee Company that he’s ready to “get up and get after it” as a return to set approaches.

Hauser also reflects on fans’ resonance with his work on Yellowstone so far, saying that “it’s been pretty cool” to see how viewers react to the show. “It’s always amazing to create a character that really transcends. It’s quite wild that this show has touched so much,” Hauser notes.

Speaking particularly of his character, the star explains that fans taking a liking to Rip serves as a “great appreciation of what people are looking for in this country,” which he describes as “simple, great values” such as “honesty, grit, termination” and “love.”

“That still is something that people want,” Hauser adds. “An American kind of simplicity… a dream of the American man.”

Yellowstone is available to stream on Peacock.