‘Yellowstone’ To End, Sequel Greenlit At Paramount With Matthew McConaughey Still In Talks To Star
Remember what we told you in February that Yellowstone would be ending with its fifth season and Paramount was plotting a follow-up series from Taylor Sheridan?
Well, that’s been confirmed. Paramount has announced that the Kevin Costner-fronted Yellowstone will wrap its run with the upcoming second half of Season 5, which is set to premiere in November. It will be followed by an untitled sequel, from 101 Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios, which has received a straight-to-series order for a December debut.
No talent has been announced for the new series but, as Deadline exclusively reported in February, Matthew McConaughey had been in talks for the project. We hear the Oscar winner remains in negotiations to star. He is expected to be joined by handful of original Yellowstone cast members.
The sequel, which will be the first offshoot in the Yellowstone universe to carry the mothership series’ moniker, will run on Paramount Network, the home of Yellowstone, and then on Paramount+.
The latter is key as the mothership series, whose original run also is on Paramount Network, streams exclusively on Peacock, in what has been a sore subject for Paramount.
The announcement comes on the heels of Paramount Global falling way shy of Wall Street forecasts yesterday when the company reported a loss of $1.1 billion for Q1, leading to a 25% stock price drop.
The end of Yellowstone, co-created by Sheridan, who serves as showrunner, follows much back and forth between Costner and Sheridan arguing over dates to shoot. According to sources, it isn’t clear whether Costner will be back for the final episodes, which we hear are slated to start production in August.
Also unclear is whether all remaining Yellowstone scripts have been completed and whether Sheridan has written scripts for the sequel series. Given that there is currently a writers strike going on, the premiere dates may be subject to change.
Director and exec producer Stephen Kay told Deadline recently, “Taylor [Sheridan] is in Texas spinning hay into gold and we’re hoping we’re hoping we’ll do it soon. Everybody’s excited.”
It has not been revealed whether the McConaughey-fronted franchise extension will be set on the Dutton ranch in Montana or elsewhere and which of the original stars of Yellowstone will appear in the spinoff series, but we hear a couple of them have received offers. The plan for the returning cast members may not get finalized until Sheridan finishes writing, we hear.
Alongside Costner, who plays John Dutton, Yellowstone stars the likes of Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Gil Birmingham
Costner’s John Dutton character has weathered hitmen, as seen at the end of season three when the whole family was attacked, and unscrupulous real estate developers attempting to wrest control of the sprawling Montana-based Dutton Ranch away from him. At the end of the first part of Season 5, he’s now dealing with his children trying to kill each other.
“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 Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios.
The original series, which was co-created by Sheridan and John Linson, is produced by 101 Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios and is exec produced by Sheridan, Linson, Costner, Art Linson, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, Christina Voros and Stephen Kay.
“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,” added David Glasser, CEO, 101 Studios.
