“Yellowstone” is back.
Taylor Sheridan’s phenomenally popular series, the most-watched show currently airing on television, returns on Sunday, Nov. 10. The new batch of episodes (six in total) serve as the second half of the show’s fifth season, which began way back in November 2022. Since then, the show has endured a very public feud with its star Kevin Costner, two strikes that shutdown Hollywood and a considerable amount of handwringing about what direction the series will ultimately take.
And while it appears that the mainline series is coming to an end, although that “final season” bit has been left out of the marketing materials for the second half of season 5 (so far), there will still be plenty to come from Sheridan’s considerable “Yellowstone” universe. These plans include a whole suite of “Yellowstone” spinoffs, which are somewhat confusing and difficult to parse through. But that’s why we’re here. Let’s dig into the future (and past!) of “Yellowstone,” via its various spinoffs and twisty timeline.
Giddy up!
“The Madison”
So “The Madison,” as far as we know, was initially meant to be the spinoff of the mainline series. (When it was initially announced, it was given a numeric title too – “2024.”) Originally, the series was going to star Matthew McConaughey, giving the series the same star power oomph that Costner provided for the mainline series. For whatever reason, McConaughey didn’t happen. But earlier this year Michelle Pfeiffer was confirmed to lead the series, as a woman who moves from New York to Montana in the wake of her husband and brother-in-law’s death in a plane crash. Kurt Russell, Patrick J. Adams and Beau Garrett were eyed to play supporting roles; Adams and Garrett have officially signed on, along with Matthew Fox.
But will it have any direct intersection with “Yellowstone?” When “2024” was announced, Luke Grimes (who plays Kayce), Cole Hauser (Rip) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) were meant to be included. But as “The Madison” has started casting, these actors haven’t been mentioned. Will they still be there? Or will there be another, more direct spinoff coming down the pike?
The Beth & Rip Show
At the end of the summer, a new possibility emerged – a sixth season of “Yellowstone,” or a reconfigured continuation that would instead focus on tough guy Rip Wheeler (Hauser) and Beth Dutton (Reilly). (The name “Yellowstone” is contentious because of a complicated streaming deal with Peacock that prevents the show from airing on the Paramount Network’s streaming equivalent Paramount+.) Hauser was recently asked about the potential spinoff in Country Living and said, “We’ll see where that leads, but I know that there’s some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor’s ideas for Kelly Reilly and myself and some of the other cast. I’m excited to see where he goes creatively with that but right now it’s just, let’s finish strong; let’s do the best we can.”
“6666”
Originally announced way back in 2021, “6666” would be a modern-day spinoff set at the historic Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. That same year, Sheridan led a buyer group to purchase the actual ranch. (This explains why there are roughly 10,000 Sheridan shows streaming at any given moment.) They have been sewing the seeds for the spinoff for a little while; beginning when Jimmy (Jefferson White) moved down there. While he started out having a rough time, he soon fell in love with a beautiful veterinarian. And at the end of the first part of “Yellowstone” Season 5, Rip was readying to move the herd down to Texas. (In the show 6666 serves as a kind of sister ranch to the Dutton Ranch.) We are still waiting! “6666” sounds like the magic number.
“1923” Season 2
The only spinoff to garner a second season, “1923,” the follow-up to the phenomenally successful “1883,” will return sometime soon. When the order for the show was put in, it consisted of two eight-episode seasons. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Brandon Sklenar and the rest of the gang are set to return, this time joined by Jennifer Carpenter, who plays a U.S. Deputy Marshall; Augustus Prew from “The Morning Show;” and Janet Montgomery from “Downton Abbey.” While the show was earmarked to return in 2024, they just started filming in the fall of 2024, so expecting a 2025 release seems reasonable. And, yes, this last batch will be the end of “1923.” But not the end of the Dutton family saga!
“1944”
Announced in 2023, “1944” would follow the Dutton family during the final days of World War II and serve as the follow-up to “1923.” (Keep in mind that “1923” was originally called “1932” – go figure!) That’s literally all that is known about the series and it’s unclear how far along the development path it has gotten, considering Sheridan’s substantial commitments to other series (including “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Lioness” and “Landman,” all of which premiered new seasons in 2024). It’s also unclear if this is meant to be a single-season miniseries or something more ongoing.
A Josh Lucas-Led Spinoff
This hasn’t actually been announced but seems like a no-brainer. Lucas’ role in the series started out in season 1, as the younger version of Costner’s ornery John Dutton. Lucas returned as a guest star in season 2. But for the first half of season 5, Lucas returned in a big way, perhaps owning to the ongoing contract disputes between Costner and Sheridan and Costner’s commitment to filming the first two installments of his currently stalled “Horizon” film series. It feels like, with Costner fully gone from the show, that a spinoff set in the years before the show proper started, with younger versions of all of the main characters, would be a no brainer. And honestly Lucas deserves it after so many years of dutiful service. Give this man his own show!
