THAT’S ALL, FOLKS! After nearly a two-year delay, the departure of its lead actor (and the mysterious, off-screen death of his character), and a bunch of fairly random stuff, Yellowstone has finally concluded its beleaguered fifth season with a supersized finale directed by co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan.
While this finale certainly wraps up the ending of the current arc of Yellowstone, questions remain about the future of the show. While it had previously been reported that the show would be concluding with the end of its fifth season, Paramount Network’s marketing has only ever referred to the end of season 5 as a “season finale,” and not a “series finale.” At the very least, the show would appear to be leaving its options open.
At the very least, Yellowstone as we knew it is over; the finale wrapped up the lasting storylines, bringing some things full circle and doing its best to tidy everything up. But keep in mind that this is a thriving, expansive franchise; aside from Yellowstone proper, there are also the 1883 and 1923 prequel shows (the latter has a second season coming early in 2025). There’s always going to be more story to tell (and more money to be made) when a show gets as big as this one. The Dutton-verse lives on.
So, what does the future of Yellowstone look like after season 5? Let’s take a trip out west and dive in.
Will Yellowstone have a season 6?
While the marketing for Yellowstone has only referred to the final episode of season 5 as a “season finale,” it still feels likely that the show as we know it concludes here.
That being said, don’t rule anything out—it remains possible that in some form or another, a season 6 does eventually end up happening. Because otherwise, the network wouldn’t be afraid of calling it a “series finale,” and it hasn’t done that at all.
Rip and Beth will have their own spin-off/sequel series
One thing that will be happening, though, is a spinoff/sequel series that follows Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler and Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton. This was first floated back in August of 2024 as an idea for a potential season 6 of Yellowstone, but now it seems more likely, according to Variety, that the pair will lead their own sequel series that isn’t under the proper Yellowstone banner, but does contain Yellowstone in the title. And Variety also reported that the show was officially moving forward—so this is happening. Think something like Yellowstone: The Ride Continues, or something along those lines.
There will also be a connected series called The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer
While we don’t know how, exactly, it will connect to Yellowstone, we do know that a sequel/spinoff/connected series called The Madison will be coming at some point in 2025. The show features Michelle Pfeiffer (a three-time Oscar nominee and known for her roles in Batman Returns, Scarface, The Age of Innocence, and the Ant-Man and the Wasp movies) as a woman named Stacy Clyburn who moves her wealthy family from New York City to Montana following the death of her husband and brother-in-law in a plane crash.
This series was long rumored to feature Matthew McConaughey in the lead role, but at some point was reworked to instead center on the character played by Pfeiffer.
