The “Yellowstone” saga isn’t coming to an end just yet, as Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are set to bring their characters Beth and Rip to a new spinoff of the series, Variety has confirmed through sources close to the production.
Reps for Paramount declined to comment.
The news comes days before the season finale of the fifth season of “Yellowstone” proper, which has been long speculated to be a series finale, given the departure of star Kevin Costner midway through the season. His messy exit led to the most recent group of six doour episodes, which mainly focused on his character John’s death.
The idea of Reilly and Hauser shooting more Yellowstone episodes beyond season five was first reported in August, when they were being courted to lead a sixth season of the Paramount Network series. But a spinoff, which sources say would still include “Yellowstone” in the title, would be a more likely option, as it would be classified as a wholly new series. That would allow Paramount to keep it within its own streaming ecosystem, whereas the mothership “Yellowstone” series currently airs on the linear Paramount Network but streams on the NBCUniversal service Peacock.
Christina Alexandra Voros, an executive producer on “Yellowstone,” spoke to Variety about how the final episode of season five will give closure to fans.
“I think this last batch of episodes leads us to the end of an era,” she said. “It’s impossible to talk about it in any detail without tipping my hat towards things to come. But I think [co-creator and writer] Taylor [Sheridan] has managed to — and I’m really not sure how he’s done it, I think it’s sort of masterful — bring the ending to something that feels both shocking and fated at the same time. You need to get to the end of the story to fully understand everything that has come before.”