The Future of <em>Yellowstone</em> Is Taking Shape

Once a week, I bemoan here on Esquire how poorly Paramount has handled Yellowstone since Kevin Costner’s departure. Not because the Horizon star was some shining beacon keeping the show alive, but because his character’s swift and unceremonious exit fractured the series into a million broken pieces.

As I’m sure Yellowstone fans recall, Taylor Sheridan basically pushed the Dutton family patriarch into a stampede of wildebeests like Scar did to Mufasa, and then our Dutton Simba stated that he was unabashedly glad that it happened. "Hopefully everyone can see that it was time," Luke Grimes told me in December. "To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around. Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed."

Much like the Yellowstone-brand baked beans that were recalled by the FDA this week, it felt like the season 5 finale was as good a place as any to pack it up and admit some faults.

Then, reports broke left and right about potential spin-offs. The move was inevitable. I’ve mentioned this before, but a major selling point for Paramount to continue Yellowstone beyond the flagship series has a lot to do with how apparently little they valued Yellowstone before Sheridan became the TV juggernaut that he is today. As the story goes, Paramount originally sold Yellowstone’s streaming rights to Peacock before they developed their own streaming service—which is why you’ve never been able to watch an episode of Yellowstone on Paramount+. To course-correct the network selling away their own kingdom, Paramount simply used Costner’s exit to kill the king and start again.

In news that Paramount confirmed this week, the network is currently planning at least four (!) distinct spin-offs set in the Yellowstone-verse. There’s a series with Luke Grimes on CBS called Y: Marshals, a sequel with Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser tentatively titled Dutton Ranch, another prequel dated 1944, and a sister spin-off with all new characters called The Madison. As a fan, I’m not so certain that the Marvel-ification of Yellowstone is the best plan moving forward. But if Paramount’s goal is to save Yellowstone’s future, this is our roadmap.

For starters, the Dutton family will no longer be in possession of the Yellowstone ranch when the story returns. Kayce sold the land to Thomas Rainwater and the Broken Rock Reservation, which was one of the most fitting and poetic closures of season 5. No matter where Yellowstone heads next, reversing this decision in any way simply cannot happen.

That’s Yellowstone’s first hurdle to cross safely. Hurdle number 2? Parsing together how all these shows may or may not connect with each other. One of the most interesting details of the Luke Grimes spin-off announcement is that Sheridan will not write the series himself. The Yellowstone creator is stepping back to an executive producer role, with SEAL TEAM’s Spencer Hudnut running point on show running duties and scripts.

Sheridan will still helm Dutton Ranch, which is set to kick off the future of Yellowstone later this fall. The story will continue with Beth Dutton (Reilly) and her husband Rip Wheeler (Hauser), though it remains unknown if any more Yellowstone alumni will return as well. In the season 5 finale, Beth purchased a smaller ranch for the two to run outside of Billings. The couple will remain in Montana, with all the same enemies, and all the same ranching problems. So far, I would expect this series to look and feel the most like Yellowstone.

At long last, the future of the Yellowstone universe is taking shape.

Next up? Paramount plans to switch gears for a task force drama led by Kayce Dutton (Grimes) for CBS airing mid-2026. It’s entirely possible that Grimes doesn’t show up again until Y: Marshals’s first episode, but fracturing the Duttons isn’t as easy as shipping the Avengers to different pockets of the multiverse. This is a family we're talking about, and an incredibly close one at that. The idea of the Duttons only coming together for the occasional crossover episode just doesn’t sit right.

Eventually, Paramount will also need to tell audiences how The Madison fits into Yellowstone-verse. Sheridan reportedly plans to move a new family named the Clyburns to Montana, with Matthew Fox and Michelle Pfeiffer both signed on to star. Though the series was the first to be announced as a Yellowstone sequel spin-off, there is no timetable for The Madison’s release.

My suggestion? Paramount should release one of those MCU Phase timelines just so fans have a clear idea of the plan. Not that you can’t trust what you read here on Esquire, but it doesn’t make much sense that Wednesday’s press event for Y: Marshals was the first news we heard directly from the network itself. Paramount is sitting on a gold mine here, and it’s finally the network's franchise to control. What are they waiting for?