While The Walking Dead was once basic cable’s most popular series, it has since been surpassed by Yellowstone, the smash hit that rejuvenated Kevin Costner’s career and gave him yet another iconic role to play.
As conceived by series co-creators Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, Yellowstone is a modern Western about the Dutton family, the owners of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana. That land is extremely valuable, which is why John Dutton (Costner) and his family have gone to great lengths to protect it. And sometimes, the threats come from within the family, which is why John’s children, Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Beth (Kelly Reilly), are at each other’s throats in season 5.
Yellowstone has proven to be a durable hit with multiple prequel miniseries on Paramount+ and at least two more spinoffs on the way. However, the future of the primary series has been in question since last year, when Costner apparently had a major conflict with both Sheridan and Paramount Network. To bring everyone up to speed, we’re sharing everything we know about Yellowstone season 6 and the sequel series.
Will there be a Yellowstone season 6?
There will not be a Yellowstone season 6. But that doesn’t mean that the Dutton family saga is coming to an abrupt end. Instead, following the show’s season 5 finale, which is also the series finale, it looks like Yellowstone will be continuing under a new name.
Reports suggest that Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, who play Beth and Rip on the show, are both in talks to reprise their roles in a new series that will also be written by Taylor Sheridan. This new series would have a different name but would follow many of the same principal characters from the original series. While this show is still untitled, the new name would give it distance from the original series, and also mean that it could stream on Paramount+ instead of on Peacock, where Yellowstone now streams.
“Taylor can figure out how to absolutely continue if he wants to,” Hauser told THR at the start of season 5. Reilly added, “It’s up to him. We trust him. … I trust him with wherever he takes her; whether we’re leaving her where we’ve left her, or we’re going to find her somewhere else, I trust him.”
There’s also another spin-off in development
In addition to the spin-off starring Hauser and Reilly, there is also another series in development that will be set after the events of Yellowstone. The Madison, which was previously known by the working title 2024, will star Michelle Pfeiffer and follows a New York City family living in the Madison River valley of central Montana as they adjust to their new locale. The show is set to feature some characters from the original series, although it’s unclear in what capacity.
In addition to Pfeiffer, the show will also star Matthew Fox, Patrick J. Adams, Ben Schnetzer, Amiah Miller, and Ella Chapman, who have all been added to the cast. The show was given a straight-to-series order and will stream on Paramount+.
Matthew McConaughey was initially in talks to star in the series, but no formal deal was ever announced.
Yellowstone also has several prequel spin-offs
In addition to the two sequel series, a bunch of other spin-offs have already premiered or been announced. The earliest was 1883, and told the story of the Dutton family’s journey to Montana. That show was designed to last for only a single season.
1923 is an ongoing series that will return for a second season in February 2025. That show follows the next generation of Duttons now that they’ve established a farm and a family. The first season became a major success when it aired on Paramount+, and stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as the elder Duttons.
One more spin-off, titled 1944, has been ordered for a single season, and it’s set to follow the next generation of Duttons. Details around that spin-off are still scarce, though.
When will the Yellowstone sequel series premiere?
We don’t know exactly when either The Madison or the Reilly and Hauser series will premiere, and it seems possible that one or both of them could air in 2025. For now, though, no premiere date has been announced for either show, so all we can do is speculate about when they might debut. What seems pretty certain, though, is that The Madison is further along in its development than the other Yellowstone sequel, and is therefore the show we’re more likely to see first.