At long last, Yellowstone season 5 is coming back, but it will require some more patience. Multiple outlets have reported that the final episodes of Yellowstone season 5, which are serving as the end to Taylor Sheridan's hit western series, are going to premiere in November 2024; an official premiere date has not been announced.
Yellowstone season 5 first premiered in November 2022 and aired eight episodes that ran into January 2023. The show had always planned to take a hiatus between those eight episodes and the final six episodes of the season, but a number of things have popped up that have caused the show to push back its return.
First, there was the news that Kevin Costner was leaving Yellowstone because of conflicts with his upcoming movie, Horizon: An American Saga, and the resulting decision that Yellowstone season 5 would now serve as the end of the flagship series. Then, the writers' and actors' strikes for new labor agreements with Hollywood studios shut down productions nearly across the board.
The writers' strike has been settled, though the actors’ strike is still ongoing. There is hope that a deal is in sight, as the actors and studios have been negotiating for the last few days, which is perhaps why an official premiere plan for the final Yellowstone episodes has been announced. Nothing is official yet, however, and this year-in-advance announcement would seem to give some cushion in case the strike continues.
That wasn't the only big Yellowstone news, however. According to Variety, two additional Yellowstone spinoffs have been ordered — a prequel series 1944 and a contemporary series currently titled 2024. 1944 follows in the footsteps of prequel series 1883 and 1923, looking at past generations of the Duttons.
"Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit US 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," said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. "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."
No firm details for 2024 are available, though it could be the previously discussed Yellowstone sequel series that was going to feature new characters, as well as some from the flagship franchise. That Yellowstone sequel series had previously announced a premiere date for December 2023, but that's clearly not happening. All we know right now is that it is expected to premiere following the conclusion of Yellowstone season 5.
As for a 1944 timeline, that's also unknown. 1923 season 2 still needs to be filmed and released, so would 1944 wait until that happens? It also isn't clear if 1944 is going to be a Paramount Plus original series, like 1883 and 1923.
All in all, get ready to saddle up for plenty more Yellowstone in the future. In the meantime, Yellowstone season 2 is currently airing on CBS, or you can watch Yellowstone from the very beginning on Peacock in the US and Paramount Plus in the UK.
