Two new Yellowstone spinoffs also are on the horizon.
Yellowstone fans will have to wait a little longer — a lot longer, actually — for what’s being billed as “the final cycle” of the contemporary Western drama. Citing production delays caused by actors’ and writers’ strikes, Paramount Network announced Thursday that the concluding episodes of Season 5, originally scheduled for this fall, will move to November 2024.
Paramount also announced that two new Yellowstone spinoffs with the working titles 1944 and 2024 are “forthcoming,” with the latter — starring Matthew McConaughey, according to some reports — expected to premiere after Yellowstone ends. All of these series, like the prequels 1883 and 1923, are produced by MTV Entertainment and 101 Studios.
“Within five years,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, “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.
“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 [executive producer] Taylor Sheridan.”
David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, added: “The global success of Yellowstone continues to thrill and excite us at 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch. This has been such an exhilarating ride with our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios and we can’t wait to bring 1944 and 2024 to audiences everywhere.”
Conspicuously absent from the Thursday announcement: Any reference to Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, who may or may not be involved with production of the series’ final episodes as rancher John Dutton. (The actor currently is at work on his epic Western movie Horizon: An American Saga, which is scheduled to open theatrically in two parts June 28 and Aug. 16.) Also unmentioned: The status of 1923, which has been expected to return for a second season, and 6666, a previously announced Yellowstone spinoff.
Paramount Network aired the last original episode of Yellowstone aired on Jan. 1 of this year. (Paramount+ carries all of the spinoffs and prequels.) Meanwhile, edited-for-broadcast-TV reruns of Yellowstone continue to post impressive ratings during Sunday prime-time telecasts on CBS. Season 2 episodes began airing Oct. 29.
The latest Taylor Sheridan-produced series, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, will premiere Nov. 5 on Paramount+, with David Oyelowo in the title role of the legendary slave-turned-lawman.
