Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone to end in November, replaced by sequel in December

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone. The modern-day Western has become one of TV's most popular series.

The popular television Western Yellowstone with Kevin Costner will end this coming spring and be replaced almost immediately by a sequel. But like any good drama, there’s some mystery involved.

The sequel, still untitled, will premiere in December on the Paramount cable network, which also televises Yellowstone, Paramount said on Friday.

Behind Costner, who plays Montana rancher John Dutton, series creator Taylor Sheridan launched a phenomenon. The opening of its fifth season last November was seen by 12.1 million viewers on the night of its debut, more people than any other scripted series last spring — a remarkable feat for a show not on a broadcast network.

“We’ve been able to create a show that didn’t start out being popular but did it on its own terms,” Costner told the Associated Press last spring.

Yellowstone will wrap up with new episodes airing in November; how many was not announced on Friday. Those episodes haven’t been filmed yet, and it’s not clear whether Costner will participate following reports that he may want out of the series.

Paramount would not comment on that Friday, with a spokesperson saying only, “Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come.”

“We’ve been able to create a show that didn’t start out being popular but did it on its own terms."

David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, which produces Yellowstone with MTV Entertainment, said the new series “will be picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale”. While the series hasn’t been named, the word Yellowstone will be part of the title — an important distinction because that wasn’t the case for spinoffs like 1883 or 1923.

Paramount has denied published reports that actor Matthew McConaughey has signed on to star in the sequel. But a spokesperson said on Friday that McConaughey “is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner”.

Following its debut on the cable network, the sequel will also air on the Paramount+ streaming network.

That’s a hugely important distinction for the company. Yellowstone streams on NBC Universal’s Peacock service, owned by Comcast, meaning a big chunk of revenue created by the popular drama has been going elsewhere.