Paramount Network's Yellowstone has just as much drama behind the scenes as it does in the show, which has led to the neo-Western ending a bit prematurely after news that star Kevin Costner wanted out in order to work on his own set of Western films. Season 5 will be the show's last, and with the second half of said season yet to air — it's tentatively scheduled to air its final six episodes in November — fans are impatiently waiting to get back to Montana. However, the ongoing feud between television studios and TV writers has led to a work stoppage that may disrupt that schedule, delaying the inevitable end to the modern-day Duttons' story. But that might be a good thing for fans; creator Taylor Sheridan now says he may add extra episodes to this back half.
There's a lot of unfinished business to take care of before the Western signs off. Civil war has broken out among the Duttons, with Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) at each other's throats, John (Costner) at risk of being impeached, and a devastating illness spreading through Montana wildlife and endangering the Duttons' cattle. Below, we'll go through what we know about the final season, including the tentative release date, trailer, and recaps of the first part of the season to set you up for what's to come.
Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, and Wes Bentley, Yellowstone
Paramount Network
Latest Yellowstone news
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 — the final set of Yellowstone episodes — was supposed to be just six episodes, but that may no longer be the case, and that comes from the man himself, Taylor Sheridan. In an eye-opening interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan bluntly says, "If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, [Paramount Network will] give me 10. It'll be as long as it needs to be."
As for Kevin Costner's participation in these final episodes, however many there are, it all seems very much up in the air. With Costner opting to leave the show in order to work on his own Western film franchise passion project, therefore accelerating the end of Yellowstone, questions have arisen about how the series will end. But Sheridan insists that his intended ending is still in play, and The Hollywood Reporter says there are ongoing discussions with Costner's camp to film more scenes to wrap up his character.
"I'm disappointed," Sheridan said in the interview. "It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."
The highly anticipated Yellowstone follow-up, which Matthew McConaughey is in discussions to lead, is still in development and will have Yellowstone in the title. However, it's looking like it will be in an entirely new location with a new cast, meaning surviving characters from Yellowstone probably won't be in the new series.
"There are lots of places where a way of life that existed for 150 years is slamming against a new way of life, but the challenges are completely different," Sheridan says. "There are a lot of places you can tell this story."
One of those places Sheridan wanted to tell that story was on the 6666 ranch, the real-life North Texas ranch that became part of Yellowstone's story and the property that Sheridan now owns. However, production on 6666 is now on hold, because Sheridan is looking to spend extra time on it given that he's personally witnessed its storied history. But the machine won't stop; Sheridan also has several more unannounced Yellowstone prequels in the works.
Yellowstone is ending with Season 5
Yellowstone will end with Season 5, Paramount has announced. At the time of the announcement in early May, the show's final episodes were scheduled to premiere in November, while a currently untitled sequel series was confirmed to be in the works and set to debut in December. However, the writers strike will likely delay both projects.
This news came after months of speculation surrounding the question of whether Kevin Costner would return for the remainder of Season 5 (and a report that claimed Costner would leave the show after Season 5, before the final season news was announced). It still remains unclear how involved Costner will be in the final episodes, which Deadline reported was supposed to begin production in August.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 release date
Along with the announcement that Yellowstone will end with the second half of its fifth season, Paramount Network confirmed in May that the series was scheduled to return with its final episodes in November, but the writers strike will likely shift this timetable.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 teaser
Paramount did release a teaser for the back half of the season, but you may notice that it contains no new footage, since the new episodes haven't been filmed yet. Piper Perabo told TV Guide in mid-December that she had no idea what was coming after Episode 8.
Yellowstone Season 5 recaps
Need to catch up on the recent episodes? Read our full recaps and cast interviews for the latest Season 5 episodes.
After four seasons of manipulation, scheming, and fighting for power against the backdrop Montana's relatively untouched beauty, new governor John Dutton is now calling the shots, with Beth (Kelly Reilly) running the show behind him. His intentions are clear in the two-part premiere of Season 5. The ranch hands have not changed their ways, despite John's new gig, which makes for some of the best scenes in the premiere episodes. Read TV Guide's full review of the two-part premiere here:
It remains a mystery whether fans can expect to see Kevin Costner in the final episodes, but Season 5 has already brought a mix of familiar and new faces to the ranch. Josh Lucas returned as young John Dutton for the first time since Season 3. He was joined by Kylie Rogers as young Beth and Kyle Red Silverstein as young Rip. Jacki Weaver also returned as the Duttons' latest business foe, Market Equities CEO Caroline Warner, with Mo Brings Plenty and Wendy Moniz promoted to series regulars as Thomas Rainwater's (Gil Birmingham) right-hand man Mo and governor-turned-senator Lynelle Perry, respectively.
Four new characters have arrived on Yellowstone as well. Kai Caster plays a young cowboy named Rowdy. Lainey Wilson plays a musician, Abby. Lilli Kai plays Clara Brewer, Gov. Dutton's new assistant. And 1883's Dawn Olivieri joined the cast as Sarah Atwood, a Montana newcomer and "corporate shark" who has attached herself to Jamie.
Before the season premiered, it was announced that Kathryn Kelly, who plays Jimmy's fiancée, Emily, had also been promoted to series regular and returned to the show alongside Jefferson White as Jimmy. So far, they've only appeared in the midseason finale and are happily living and working at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas.
The back half of the season is also likely to feature more Orli Gottesman as Halie, a young, confident girl drawn to Carter. So far, we've only seen her at the county fair and briefly in the midseason finale. "In Season 5, Halie becomes that person who gives Carter the chance to come out of his shell and to teach him not only about himself, but he finds himself always wanting Halie to be around," reads her character description. "Halie comes along and now there is someone who can fit that mold and be there for him."
Yellowstone Season 5 picked up after the bloody events of the Season 4 finale; Beth (Kelly Reilly), who we all know is the real brains behind every operation on the Yellowstone-Dutton Ranch, manipulated her adopted brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) into killing his biological father, Garrett (Will Patton). After it was revealed that Garrett was the one who ordered the attempted hits on John, Beth, and Kayce (Luke Grimes) back in Season 3, Beth figured he had it coming. She also made sure to hang onto the evidence, so now she's got Jamie under her thumb and out of the governor's race, clearing the way for their father to be the only Dutton running for office. She also just got hitched to Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and watched her father's new, confusing vegan special friend (Piper Perabo) head off to jail, so basically, it's Beth's world and everyone else is just living in it.
Complicating Beth's quest for world/Montana domination is the fact that Kayce has been on a heck of a spiritual journey that showed him a vision of two paths. At least one of those paths, as he told Monica (Kelsey Asbille), would result in "the end of us." Whatever that means, it can't be good.
Yellowstone prequels and spin-offs
Yellowstone is officially getting a sequel series, which was previously scheduled to premiere in December before the writers work stoppage started (it is highly unlikely it will stick to that schedule now). The series is currently untitled, but it will have Yellowstone in the title and will reportedly star Matthew McConaughey.
A prequel limited series, 1883, aired on Paramount+ late in 2021, and revealed the origin story of the Dutton family arriving in Montana. The series starred Isabel May as the brave and adventurous teenager Elsa, elder sister to John Dutton's great-grandfather, John Sr., and Tim McGraw as her father, James.
A second Yellowstone prequel, titled 1923, premiered in December 2022. It picks up 40 years after 1883 with the next generation of Duttons tending to their ranch during the aftermath of World War I and the start of Prohibition. It stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, the brother and sister-in-law to Tim McGraw's James Dutton from 1883. The premiere of 1923 also revealed some hidden secrets about the Dutton family tree.
Sheridan is also writing a Yellowstone spin-off called 6666, which takes place at the real historic Four Sixes Ranch in Texas (which Sheridan owns) and tells the story of how the ranch has continued to operate in the same way today as it did over a century ago. That spin-off will air on Paramount Network, along with the original show, though it's currently on hold as Sheridan assesses its heritage — as owner, from a front-row seat — to honor its history.
A Sheridan-produced limited series, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, starring David Oyelowo as Bass Reeves, was originally expected to exist within the Yellowstone universe as a prequel to 1883, but will now function as its own standalone series, kicking off a new anthology.
Additionally, Sheridan has several more unannounced Yellowstone prequels in the works. "[The prequels are] time capsules of life in Montana as a microcosm of the world as a whole," Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. "They're big spectacles, and the more that you move into the modern era, the bigger that spectacle becomes. I know these are huge bets Paramount makes on me every time. I'm asking them to give me Game of Thrones Season 6 money for what is essentially a pilot every year, and that's a big ask. As long as I do my job well, and people don't bore of the genre, I think there will be enough for many more [prequels] — three or four."
30 fun facts about Yellowstone
If you think you're a fan of Yellowstone but want to become a super fan, then check out TV Guide's compilation of 30 (and counting) fun facts and behind-the-scenes secrets about the show, including how you can visit the real Dutton ranch and what it takes to be a cowboy on a Taylor Sheridan show.
Yellowstone Seasons 1-4 and the first half of Season 5 are streaming on Peacock. New episodes of Season 5 air on the Paramount Network. Here are more ways to watch Yellowstone.