The end of Yellowstone is a year away.
On Thursday, the Paramount Network set a November 2024 premiere date for the conclusion of the fifth and final season of the Kevin Costner-led series, though the legacy actor likely won’t be onscreen much as John Dutton. The final episodes of Yellowstone were originally set to air in 2023 but the writer and actor’s strikes contributed to the delayed return.
Though Yellowstone as fans know it will soon bid farewell, it’s certainly not the end of the saga. Two new series have been ordered — another prequel called 1944 and the previously announced sequel series, now tentatively titled 2024 — at Paramount+.
“Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. cable show with five million viewers into a global hit franchise with over 100 million fans around the world and multiple extensions — and we’re just getting started,” President and CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios Chris McCarthy said in a statement shared. “On the heels of 1883 and 1923’s success, our new planned spinoffs, 1944 and 2024, will take audiences on a thrilling, new and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise and has helped turn it into a worldwide cultural phenomenon thanks to the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan.”
Of his reasoning for leaving the beloved series, Costner said the decision to split Yellowstone’s fifth season into parts played a role. “ I couldn’t help them anymore. We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…” he trailed off while giving testimony in a child support hearing.
Whether Costner’s character will appear in any future season 5 content has yet to be seen. In the same court appearance, the actor said he “will probably go to court over” lack of pay from the remaining episodes.
Earlier this year, show creator Sheridan said he was not entirely pleased by Costner’s decision to leave the hit series. “I’m disappointed,” Sheridan, 53, told The Hollywood Reporter. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
Yellowstone’s first four seasons and the first half of season 5 are streaming now on Peacock.
