Yellowstone is dead, long live Yellowstone
Paramount announced Yellowstone will end with its fifth season, and a new sequel will pick up where the show left off
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The rumors, as it turns out, are true. Amid alleged drama between creator Taylor Sheridan and star Kevin Costner, Yellowstone is officially coming to an end. Paramount announced the news on Friday while simultaneously confirming that the Yellowstone sequel, which has been courting Matthew McConaughey as a lead, is moving forward (per Deadline).
In statements on the subject, Paramount brass glossed over the massively successful flagship show’s finale in favor of promoting the next chapter. “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios (via Deadline). And David Glasser, CEO of co-producers 101 Studios, said, “The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale. We are thrilled to bring this new journey to audiences around the world.”
The company has quite an ambitious plan to make the transition from Yellowstone to the new show (which will reportedly also bear the Yellowstone name) feel seamless for viewers. According to Deadline, the final episodes of Yellowstone’s fifth season will air in November, and the sequel will premiere in December. Not only that, but the outlet reports that several of the original cast members (ones not named Kevin Costner) are expected to return for this latest spin-off.
How this accelerated timeline will be accomplished in the middle of a writers’ strike is unclear. There is no confirmation about what scripts Sheridan had finished before the strike was called. But if Paramount is announcing late 2023 premiere dates, one imagines the company is confident about having scripts in hand. That confidence was reflected in Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish’s comments on a Q1 earnings call on Thursday (via Variety), when he said that “we have a lot in the can, so to speak, content in the can,” adding that “consumers really won’t notice anything for a while” even if the strike has an “extended duration.” (If the Screen Actors Guild and/or the Directors Guild go on strike when their contracts expire in June, it’ll be a different story.)
The drama may in fact turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Paramount. Though the series may be losing Kevin Costner, it may gain Matthew McConaughey, an A-list star who will likely draw viewers outside the Yellowstone fandom. And now that Yellowstone OG is ending, Paramount’s unfortunate streaming deal with Peacock will no longer be an issue—the new show will air on Paramount Network and Paramount+, instead of confusingly streaming on a competitor’s platform.
As for Kevin Costner, the actor who made Yellowstone what it is today, Deadline reports uncertainty as to whether he’s returning for the final episodes of the series at all. Costner and Sheridan were rumored to be feuding over filming commitments, though Costner’s lawyer adamantly denied that his client was only willing to return to set for a single week. Costner is currently busy filming his own Western Horizon (and going through a divorce).
Regardless, Yellowstone as we know it is coming to an end. But also, Yellowstone as we know it is kind of continuing? Yellowstone is done, but we also haven’t seen the last of Yellowstone. And long may the Yellowstone Cinematic Universe reign.
64 Comments
Season 5 is a snoozefest anyway.
See! We told you Kevin wasn’t quitting!
If someone could go back 30 years and tell young BobWWorfington that the guy who knocked out Untouchables, No Way Out, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Robin Hood, JFK, and Dances with Wolves in a short time was legit risking his career by walking away from a TV Western…
Yeah, I’d have believed you. Because I always thought Costner was a dickbag.
I watched season 1 and I’ll pass on this conservative wet dream. Both John and his psychopathic farm hand, Cole or Ham or Shitheels or whatever the fuck his name is should be on death row waiting for the big day.
Opening scene:
Beth: “You know, ever since Daddy got trampled by that wild horse herd, life just doesn’t feel the same
Jamie: “I know. It’s like I feel differently about you now. I don’t hate you.”
Beth: “Wanna make out?”
Jamie: “We were raised brother and sister, Beth. Yes… yes, I do.”
Yellowstone! The escapist drama for folks who love to brag they’ve never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones.
Ha. I actually binged GOT and House of Dragons right before I started Yellowstone.
For those that hate both tits AND dragons.
5 seasons is a good amount of seasons. Most shows fall off after 5.
Taxi went 5 and it was perfect.
Or in the case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she literally fell off.
She jumped!
yellowstone fell off a couple seasons ago already
Me reading this article: So they’re just replacing one actor. Why are they calling it a Whole New Thing?“And now that Yellowstone OG is ending, Paramount’s unfortunate streaming deal with Peacock will no longer be an issue…”Ah, there it is. I knew there had to be a monetary reason. You don’t just end a top-rated show because one actor left, then relaunch the same show just because one actor left. I knew it had to be about money.
I also assume that Costner has a producers credit that he loses if it’s a new show.
Ooooh, I hadn’t thought of that. That makes a ton of sense, too.
Nah, Costner has top agents. He will get exec producer credit and cash for years with that show.
Can’t they just have Costner revealed to be Galifreyan and have a scene where he regenerates into Matthew McConaughey (famed star of Tiptoes)?
10/10, no notes. Would watch.
John Dutton is the main character that the entire Yellowstone show pivots on.Why not change the name if his character is removed?
Pop-Pop’s going to be disappointed.
Don’t worry, he’ll just watch Kevin Costner’s Fox Nation documentaries and might not even realize he’s not watching Yellowstone.
Wait, when was it revealed that Costner is a hardline right-winger?
“Hardline” is a definition that shifted in the Trump era, there’s a decent-sized clutch of republicans who watch Fox News and hate Obama and all that…but had a very brief look in the mirror when 2016 went down and now prefer to keep more quiet about their beliefs. They maybe even poured one out for Liz Cheney when she got railroaded out of the party. I suspect Costner’s one of those.
Setting aside whether a “moderate Republican” such as that would be making Fox Nation documentaries, I decided to just do a bit of searching myself. And Costner did endorse Liz Cheney last year. Other politicians he’s endorsed or campaigned for over the past twenty years include Barack Obama, Pete Buttigieg, and Joe Biden, which doesn’t seem like a good fit for a Fox Nation contributor. (Though having someone like that providing them content would probably be a good thing all around.)
Seems like libs these days are super quick to label anyone a hardcore right winger if they don’t conform.
It wasn’t, but I would think that anyone willingly working with Fox Nation is pretty right-wing at this point.
The mere fact that you call it “pop pop” tells me you’re not ready for a sequel
*sad Charlie Brown walk*
All I’m taking away from this is that we’re pushing back the timeline for McConaughey’s inevitable presidential run, and thus the rare-earth-metals-seeking wars of adventure that will occur under his administration. Which is probably a good thing?
It’s fine, being older is all the rage for presidential candidates these days. And to paraphrase his character in Dazed and Confused: “That’s what I love about these voters, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
Very nice. Take your star.
Next time, on Yellowstone Z
Kevin Reynolds put it best: Costner should always direct himself. That way he can work with his favorite actor and his favorite director.
Yellowstone: The Next Generation
2Yellow2Stone
Wyoming. The Final Frontier…
Yellowstone 2: Electric Boogaloo!!!!
Yellowstone: Darby Drift
Yellow Stoner
Brownstone: the hilarious new comedy about a family of Wyoming ranchers trying to make it in the Big Apple!
Did anyone else see that batshit video Matthew made recently? I’m sure he’ll be a real joy to work with. Costner realized Yellowstone was going down the toilet a couple seasons ago. Can’t fault the guy for wanting out of that shitshow. Not like he needs the money.
I was never going to watch it with Costner, so yeah, I can see this being a good thing.
Have they said who Matthew McConaughey is playing and how he’s tied to Dutton family? Long lost son, uncle, brother, cousin?
I’ve seen so many clips of that show on IG and YT shorts that I feel like I know it all too well.
They don’t even have a lead yet and they’re already planning to air in December? A bold move, Cotton, if I ever saw one.Anyway I can’t believe Yellowstone has only been on for 5 years. It feels like it’s been around all my life, and I’ve only seen like 3 episodes.
I guess if the Matthew McConaughey deal fall through, they could go with DJ Qualls, they’re almost twins.
I would never stop watching a Yellowstone sequel starring DJ Qualls.
Despite its massive success, I never even knew that it was a modern day political drama. I thought it was about cowboys and ranchers in the olden times… I know there was that 1883 spinoff, the premise of which I’m assuming is exactly what I was describing, but I thought two series were closer together in the timeline – kinda like how Red Dead Redemption II takes place only about 10 years before RDR 1.Also, Tulsa King is a spin-off of Yellowstone?
i had no idea tulsa king was related either.
Yeah, that was news to me. And that’s after being inundated with Tulsa King ads for a good six months before it premiered.
Sheridan, when he wasn’t stretching himself thin, wrote some bangers about the West in modern times, and he’s done more to call attention to Native American issues/employ Native actors as any non-documentarian out there.
Now, the seams are showing badly. I get a former struggling actor not wanting the gravy train to stop chugging, but he’s got to get some help.
But, a primer. Yellowstone is the Dutton family today. 1883 is the generation that founded the ranch. 1923 is the same family a little further in the future.
I don’t think Tulsa King is a spin-off. The Renner thing is definitely not. I haven’t seen Tulsa yet, and maybe there’s an Easter Egg (a little like Stephen King’s Castle Rock world) but last I checked, Tulsa and Bozeman Montana are pretty far apart.
he’s done more to call attention to Native American issues/employ Native actors as any non-documentarian out there.The cast, crew, and producers of “Reservation Dogs” would love to have several words. As would everyone in “Smoke Signals” back in the day, to “Molly of Denali” today. Of course, you have to actually care about stories of modern Indigenous life being told by Indigenous people themselves and not some white boy with a cowboy cosplay boner.
Wait a sec… how about The Mayor of Kingstown? Is that also set in the Yellowstone TV Universe?
I’m kinda assuming now that there’s this whole cinematic universe of ‘crap your dad watches’. Kevin Costner in Yellowstone is related to Tom Selleck in Blue Bloods, who is trying to protect Chicago from a joint scheme from the ‘Regional Crime Kings’ – i.e. the Tulsa King and the Mayor of Kingston. Occasionally, someone from NCIS Hawaii shows up because Pearl Harbor Naval Base just had its 5,000th Military-related murder, and they need help solving it. Fox News segments help keep all of the story threads connected and remind viewers what’s going on.
I think the Tulsa King reference was in relation to how Yellowstone brought Paramount a lot of success, i.e. brought in viewers, a lot that Tulsa King was able to nab?
it’s not. Just another Sheridan-created show. I think they were just lumping all the Sheridan shows into one pile. But it is a good show! As is his other non-Yellowstone show Mayor of Kingstown with Jeremy Renner.
I’ve recently started watching this and I am not trying to be mean but is the woman who plays Beth acknowledged as a terrible actress in a crooked wig?
all the acting is pretty terrible and beth in particular is insufferable. still a fun watch for a season or two before it really goes downhill.
She’s this generation’s Joan Collins. A talented actress who found herself with a knife, fork and bib, eating as much scenery as she can to earn a living. Kelly Reilly is good. Beth is tiresome.
The show’s in this really weird position where both spinoffs are FAR surperior to the ostensible “main” series. Maybe this will let it reach that level.
And it hasn’t even come out yet how Harvey Weinstein’s CEO Glasser wound up with an unearned stake in this franchise, effectively stealing its profits away from the Weinstein victims’ award pool.
CGI John Dutton oughta work for a few episodes…