Dear God, There's Another New 'Yellowstone' Spin-off
What’s this now? You thought the Yellowstone season 5 finale was the last chapter in the Dutton family legacy? Never. A franchise this popular—with two spin-offs to its name already—doesn’t just pack up its toys because Daddy Costner left the room. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan made it abundantly clear last week that the motto going forward is, "No Kevin Costner? No problem!" Whether or not audiences agree with Sheridan is another story. (They do not.) But Sheridan has nearly a dozen other shows he's working on for Paramount. What’s one more?
According to Deadline, Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly will lead a Yellowstone spin-off series, reprising their roles as Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton, respectively. The story will most likely pick up after the season 5 finale—which changed its branding from “series finale” to “season finale” last week. Eagle-eyed viewers already clocked the confusing marketing switch-up following Yellowstone season 5’s penultimate episode. As it turns out, that wasn't a typo on Paramount's part.
For everything we know so far about the new spin-off, continue reading below.
Is This Just Yellowstone Season 6?
Yes, basically. In Yellowstone’s early days, Paramount Network signed an exclusive streaming deal with NBCUniversal. That’s why audiences in the US can only stream Yellowstone on Peacock, and not Paramount+ (unlike in the UK, where it is available). Spin-offs of the flagship series, however, such as 1883 and 1923, are solely Paramount+ properties. So, moving the sixth season of Yellowstone over to Paramount under a new name was likely the goal all along.
Who Else Is Returning?
Certainly not Kevin Costner. Sheridan killed off his character—the family's patriarch, John Dutton—following a behind-the-scenes feud that placed season 5 on hiatus for nearly two years. Since the series returned, Sheridan turned his attention toward wrapping up loose ends. Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) is killed to keep John Dutton’s assassination trail cold. Plus, Beth and Rip sold a massive amount of cattle and horses just to keep their ranch afloat. In the second-to-last episode, Kayce (Luke Grimes) comes up with a plan that just might save Yellowstone ranch forever.
The youngest Dutton sibling was left out of the new report from Deadline, meaning that Kayce’s character may depart the series in season 5’s finale. “There’s always talks of spin-offs,” Grimes told Esquire US ahead of the finale. “I’d do it [but] I just don’t understand how it would work once the story ends. Kayce wants to cowboy and be happy with his family. He doesn’t want to kill people anymore. He doesn’t want the weight of a huge mega-ranch that isn’t sustainable in today’s times. He wants his little slice of heaven. It’s that simple.”
What About The Madison?
As far as we’ve heard, The Madison is still happening as well. 1923 season 2 is next on the docket for the Yellowstone universe—which will conclude its Harrison Ford-starring tale of the post-World War I Dutton family. Then, yet another new spin-off series titled The Madison is set to air featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lost’s Matthew Fox. The Madison reportedly follows a New York family named The Clyburns, who move out to Montana in search of a new life.
If The Madison runs concurrently with this new sequel spin-off about Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, I could envision a Chicago Fire/Chicago P.D./Chicago Med setup for Yellowstone moving forward. There’s massive potential for crossovers—and even multipart plots involving characters from both shows. That’s the one problem with spinoffs like 1883 and 1923: everyone’s dead by the time the new season of Yellowstone saddles up.
That’s all we know for now! If Paramount is listening, a formal announcement about Yellowstone’s future would be a massive help to us all. Hopefully, Yellowstone fans will have a clearer picture of the road ahead following the season 5 finale.
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