The series has been marred by recent drama involving series lead Kevin Costner, while Hollywood strikes delayed production.
Yellowstone fans will have to wait a bit longer for the epic finale of the beloved Western series. Paramount Network announced on Thursday that the hit show will return for its final installment in November 2024 following a shift in production schedules as a result of the Hollywood strikes. The show was originally scheduled to return to the air later this year.
Additionally, audiences will have two new spinoffs to look forward to in the near future. The working titles, 1944 and 2024, respectively, follow in the same style of its predecessors, 1883 -- which starred Tim McGraw and Faith Hill -- and 1923 -- starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
As previously confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew McConaughey is on board to star in one of the franchises' forthcoming shows.
"Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. 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/CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, in a statement. "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."
Yellowstone is co-created by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sheridan (Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario) and John Linson. The series chronicles the Dutton family, led by Kevin Costner's patriarch John Dutton, who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect -- the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders -- an expanding town, a Native American reservation and America’s first national park. Among the cast members are Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Brecken Merrill.
In recent months, the show has been surrounded by drama involving its lead actor, Costner. Paramount Network announced in May that the popular flagship series would be ending after the current fifth season, following the impending departure of the series star -- who also serves as an executive producer -- amid ongoing tensions.
In September, during a child support hearing amid his divorce proceedings, the actor addressed the circumstances of his exit from the show. At the time, he reportedly said on the stand that he changed his schedule to shoot the first part of Yellowstone's fifth season while working his own four-part movie project, Horizon: An American Saga. While he said he wanted to return for the sixth season, he "couldn’t help them any more." According to Costner, making Horizon was a conflict with filming Yellowstone two times a year.
"We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative," he claimed, alleging a script for the second part of season 5 had not been written. Costner further alleged that he tried to return to the show and told his reps to "have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number, and they [Yellowstone] walked away."
A press release announcing the series' final episodes promises an "epic" conclusion to the story.
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