‘Yellowstone’ To End After Season Five; Series Sequel Set

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Paramount Network's "Yellowstone"
Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Paramount Network's ‘Yellowstone.‘ (Image credit: Paramount Network)

Paramount Network has officially announced the end to its highly-rated original series Yellowstone, but will develop a sequel to the Taylor Sheridan-created show.

Yellowstone will end with the second half of the fifth season, which is scheduled to debut later this fall. The series, starring Kevin Costner as John Dutton, the patriarch of a family that controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the country, has generated huge ratings for Paramount Network during its run. The show’s November 2022 record-setting season five premiere delivered 12.1 million viewers. Overall, the first half of the current season drew more than 17 million viewers, according to the network. 

The untitled sequel will launch in December on Paramount Network and will pick up where Yellowstone leaves off at the end of the fifth season, according to show producers MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. It’s unclear who from the current Yellowstone cast, which includes Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser and Luke Grimes, will appear in the sequel.

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,” Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios president and CEO Chris McCarthy said in a statement. 

The Yellowstone announcement comes two months after reports surfaced that Costner and series producers bickered over production schedules for the series

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.