Yellowstone is officially ending with Season 5, and the show’s first sequel will replace it. Here’s everything we know via Paramount.
The studio’s announcement of a sequel series this morning marks it as the first Yellowstone spinoff confirmed to enter production that isn’t a prequel. Prequels 1883 and 1923 drew great critical and commercial success for their Paramount+ streaming platform alongside Paramount Network debuts. We’ve also heard tale for years now of a Texas-based 6666 spinoff, which would’ve become the first modern-day counterpart to Yellowstone.
News on the Four Sixes, however, dried up quickly, despite the flagship series’ Season 5 taking Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) to Texas to babysit his boss’ (Kevin Costner’s John Dutton) cattle. Along for the ride are Teeter (Jen Landon), Ryan (Ian Bohen), Jake (Jake Ream), and Walker (Ryan Bingham).
In all likelihood, this was a direct set-up of the Yellowstone sequel. As Season 5 dragged out this Texas storyline, franchise mastermind Taylor Sheridan was hand-picking the team he wanted to continue on this legacy. If anyone can carry on this brand in the absence of John and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), it’s Hauser’s Rip.
At present, this feels like the best move for a sequel. It’s disappointing to have Yellowstone close with such negative press surrounding its star and creator, but Season 5’s first half took John, Beth, and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) to their brink. It’s hard to imagine any further seasons with this family as the focus topping this storyline, let alone bringing truly fresh drama to the table.
So what happens now?
Paramount greenlights ‘Yellowstone’ sequel
In their update sent to Outsider the morning of May 5, 2023, Paramount Network announced “a new, untitled Yellowstone sequel from creator Taylor Sheridan. By their words, this will be “a further expansion of the Yellowstone universe.”
This new series will premiere in December on Paramount Network, then later stream on Paramount+ “following the epic, final cycle of Yellowstone – television’s #1 hit series – which will debut in November.”
In other words, “The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale,” clarifies David Glasser, CEO, 101 Studios and longtime production partner to Sheridan.
Paramount has greenlit the sequel straight-to series, and “the cast will be announced shortly.”
Which leads us to Matthew McConaughey.
Matthew McConaughey confirmed to star in next ‘Yellowstone’ project
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Back in March, President and CEO of ViacomCBS Chris McCarthy told the Hollywood Reporter that Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey will return to acting by helming his own Yellowstone series. The news came at the height of the Yellowstone and Kevin Costner turmoil, with the studio hopeful Costner would remain onboard at the time.
As of this article, Paramount has not confirmed if the McConaughey project is indeed the same as their newly-announced Yellowstone sequel. But it’d be a bigger shock if they weren’t than if they are.
McConaughey is entrenched in the cultural fabric of his home state, Texas. From teaching at his alma mater, University of Texas, to deeply-rooted humanitarian work, McConaughey has become inseparable from the Lone Star State. Which is exactly why speculation has been on McConaughey leading 6666, Sheridan’s purported, Texas-based Yellowstone spinoff. We may have even manifested this all the way back in November of 2022 with our ‘Yellowstone’ Needs to Cast Matthew McConaughey as ‘6666’ Lead: Making the Case.
As time has gone on, however, it feels much more likely that 6666 will merge with whatever this new Yellowstone sequel is. Paramount has even said that this sequel will be the first to include “Yellowstone” in the title. Seeing a Yellowstone: 6666 title pop up soon wouldn’t be surprising.
Taylor Sheridan’s Texas roots come full circle
It’s important to note that Sheridan himself is a deep-rooted Texas native, too. He grew up on a ranch outside Cranfills Gap before the heartbreak of his mother selling it; an upbringing that would form his Duttons’ fight to keep their Montana ranch. So a show about Texas’ biggest and most historic ranch (6666 or the Four Sixes) is a passion project in kind.
So much so, in fact, that Sheridan now owns and operates the actual Four Sixes with a trust. And for McConaughey, all of this has to be a huge draw; the kind it would take to get the Oscar-winner to return to an on-screen project after a multi-year hiatus (his last non-voice role was in 2019’s The Gentlemen).
Combine this with Hauser’s Rip Wheeler & Co. making the move down to Texas in Yellowstone proper, and we have a strong recipe for the show’s continuation. We’ll find out soon if this is the case, as the Yellowstone sequel will need to begin filming soon to make their Dec. 2023 release date.