Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2: Return Date, Spin-Offs, and Everything Else to Know
Television’s biggest drama is also the television industry’s biggest drama. Paramount Network’s hit Western Yellowstone should be on an easy ride into a record-ratings sunset, but instead it’s more of a bucking bronco that can’t be tamed. Season 5, which has been on hiatus since January 2023, will be the show’s final season, and while we always knew the end would be near, we weren’t expecting it this soon, and Paramount Network probably wasn’t either. Star Kevin Costner’s participation in the final episodes of the series is still up the air as the actor moves on to a new passion project of his own — a series of Western films — which became the impetus for the series ending. But there is some good news from the ranch: Yellowstone Season 5 is gearing up to return to production, and in the meantime, it’s reached a whole new audience while airing on CBS.
There’s a lot of unfinished business to take care of before the flagship series signs off. Civil war has broken out among the Duttons, with Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) at each other’s throats, John (Costner) at risk of being impeached, and a devastating illness spreading through Montana wildlife and endangering the Duttons’ cattle.
Below, we’ll go through what we know about the second half of the final season, including the latest release date, cast information, and recaps of the first part of the season to set you up for what’s to come.
Yellowstone Stars Discuss Life With John as the Governor
Yellowstone latest news
Speaking at an event in March, Yellowstone’s Ian Bohen, who plays Ryan on the series, spoke with Entertainment Tonight and revealed that filming on Season 5 Part 2 is going to start soon, possibly in May. “We will go back, rumor has it, in May. We shoot this summer, and then we should be on in November, roughly,” he said. But he was cautious: “You’re gonna have to give me some leeway on that. It’s not gonna be any sooner than that. It could be June. We shoot six episodes… [and start airing in] November… maybe December, and then we go through the holidays, and then maybe season finale — series finale — maybe on Super Bowl, something like that. And that will be the end of an era.” Bohen also said he has not yet seen any scripts.
Yellowstone is ending with Season 5
Yellowstone will end with Season 5, Paramount has announced. At the time of the announcement in early May 2023, the show’s final episodes were scheduled to premiere in November 2023, while a currently untitled sequel series was confirmed to be in the works and set to debut in December. However, the writers strike and the actors strike delayed both projects, and Season 5 is now set to return in November 2024.
The news that the show will be ending came after months of speculation surrounding the question of whether Kevin Costner would return for the remainder of Season 5 (and a report that claimed Costner would leave the show after Season 5, before the final season news was announced). It still remains unclear how involved Costner will be in the final episodes. But in an eye-opening interview with The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023, Sheridan insisted that his intended ending is still in play, and The Hollywood Reporter says there are ongoing discussions with Costner’s camp to film more scenes to wrap up his character.
“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan said in the interview. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
That doesn’t mean the final season will be truncated, though. Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 was expected to be just six episodes, and actor Ian Bohen indicated in March of this year that six episodes are still the expectation. However, in June 2023, Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter, “If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, [Paramount Network will] give me 10. It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”
Paramount has announced a new contemporary Yellowstone spin-off series called 2024, which appears to be the highly anticipated Yellowstone follow-up that Matthew McConaughey is in discussions to lead. Sheridan previously indicated that the series might take place in a different location than the flagship show.
“There are lots of places where a way of life that existed for 150 years is slamming against a new way of life, but the challenges are completely different,” Sheridan told THR. “There are a lot of places you can tell this story.”
One of those places Sheridan wanted to tell that story was on the 6666 ranch, the real-life North Texas ranch that became part of Yellowstone’s story and the property that Sheridan now owns. However, production on 6666 is now on hold, because Sheridan is looking to spend extra time on it given that he’s personally witnessed its storied history.