Paramount Network Officially Renews ‘Yellowstone’ for a Fifth Season
It’s Taylor Sheridan’s world right now in television and we are just living in it
A day after his new series ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ received a second season renewal, Paramount Network unsurprisingly announced that Sheridan’s flagship drama ‘Yellowstone’ will be renewed for a fifth season. Yellowstone is coming off it’s record-breaking fourth season, and has seen the show earn its best ever ratings, (especially in the struggling 18-49 demographic sought out by networks and advertisers). Kevin Costner will once again headline, with fellow returning cast members Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley among others. In addition, Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly will be promoted to series’ regulars . The season is scheduled to begin filming in May.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Yellowstone is a Neo-Western drama set in Wyoming that stars Costner as John Dutton, the patriarch of the family that owns the largest cattle ranch in the US. Being bordered on a growing town, an Indian Reservation and a historic national park, John and his family are in constant conflict that only grows among family members due to shifting alliances, murder and the desire for respect.
Since it premiered in 2018, the series has been a consistently strong ratings performer that has only reached blockbuster levels in its last two seasons. Between all platforms, the fourth season premiere averaged 14 million viewers and its finale last month garnered over 15 million viewers showing that audiences can’t get enough the Dutton’s actions even if it has yet to translate to love with the Primetime Emmy awards although the show did earn a SAG Ensemble nomination in the Drama series category.
Yellowstone’s renewal is an obvious no brainer and at the center of this massive success is creator Sheridan. Initially starting off as a supporting actor, the talented multi hyphenate has shifted to writing and directing penning screenplays for ‘Sicario’, ‘Hell or High Water’ (which earned him an Original Screenplay Oscar nomination) and ‘Wind River’. With Yellowstone, Sheridan became a powerful force in television and a crucial tool for ViacomCBS, the conglomerate that owns Paramount Network, to grow their streaming service Paramount+. The writer/director has done just that by providing the platform with two of it’s most popular titles in just the last couple of months including the Jeremy Renner led Kingstown and the Yellowstone prequel ‘1883’ which is currently airing new episodes until February 26. This is in addition to many other projects Sheridan has lined up in the future.
With this much success, Yellowstone is clearly shaping up to be that rare series that gets high viewership and a strong passionate fanbase that seems to get stronger each year. A date for its upcoming fifth season has yet to be announced but it very likely could be ready for Fall 2022.