Paramount has made its decision about how best to move forward with its hit series “Yellowstone” starring Kevin Costner, but it won’t make fans happy.
In an announcement on Friday, the network said it was canceling the successful series after this year’s fifth season, despite spawning off two successful sequels from show creator Taylor Sheridan with a third in the works.
Yellowstone showed the woke Hollywood crowd that Americans living in the heartland could get behind a show that, at a bare minimum, did not insult them and upheld many of their values.
“Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” said the network.
There will be another sequel. Added Glasser, who serves as the CEO of 101, “the Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale. We are thrilled to bring this new journey to audiences around the world.”
The two successful spinoffs are “1883” that starred country music stars (and real-life hubby and wife) Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and “1923,” starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
The next spin-off is untitled but will have the name Yellowstone in it and it will have a huge star in the lead. Matthew McConaughey is in talks to star in the show with many reports claiming it is a done deal.
‘YELLOWSTONE’ will officially end with Season 5.
A sequel series will premiere in December, with Matthew McConaughey in talks to star. pic.twitter.com/Ie2iKpawId
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 5, 2023
Per the Hollywood Reporter:
Costner, who is currently off shooting his Western passion project, Horizon, has reportedly refused to work more than a single week on the back half of what is now the show’s final season.
In recent months, his co-stars have been tight-lipped about whatever behind-the-scenes drama was going on, with the main cast and Sheridan proving no-shows at April’s PaleyFest in Los Angeles.
Now, without offering any insight into Costner’s level of participation, Paramount says the final cycle of the series will roll out in November.
The previous cycle, or season 5A as it’s been billed, continued to smash records with the premiere garnering more than 17 million total viewers, an otherwise unfathomable number for a scripted cable series in the year 2023.