Yellowstone returned to network television last Sunday, with CBS airing the first three episodes of the popular Paramount Network series’ third season. The series is currently in its fifth season on Paramount Network, though it’s been on hiatus since last January with the back half of the season — the production of which was delayed due to a conflict over star Kevin Costner’s filming schedule — now set to arrive in November. When the back half of Yellowstone’s fifth season does arrive, it will mark the end of the series, as it has been announced that Season 5 is set to be Yellowstone’s last but it doesn’t mean the end of the overall Yellowstone universe.
The massive success of Yellowstone saw the expansion of its universe, first with prequel 1883 that took viewers back to the start of the Dutton family’s story in Montana. 1923 picked up from there, with that Taylor Sheridan-created series getting a second season renewal in 2023 to continue the Dutton story in the 20th century. Another prequel series, 1944 is in the works, as well as a Yellowstone sequel with the working title 2024. There was also an announced spinoff series, 6666, that would center around not the Yellowstone ranch, but the Four Sixes ranch in Texas. With the Yellowstone universe ever expanding, here’s a guide to every series making up the world of the Duttons thus far.
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Yellowstone
The series that started it all, Yellowstone debuted in 2018 and will, by the time it concludes (presumably later this year) have run for five seasons. The series follows the story of John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), the patriarch of a powerful family of ranchers who operates the Yellowstone Ranch. The series follows the conflicts faced by the Dutton family as the ranch faces threats and conflicts from the nearby Broken Rock Indian reservation, Yellowstone National Park, and land developers — as well as their own family drama. The series also stars Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, and Cole Hauser.
Season 5 of the series ended its first half with the Dutton family on the brink of war with one another with Jamie Dutton (Bentley) making a major move against his father John (Costner) and potentially playing right into the hands of their family’s biggest enemy in the process.
1883
Launching on Paramount+ in December 2021, 1883 was the first Yellowstone spinoff, a prequel series that took viewers essentially into the Dutton family’s origin story. The series, narrated by Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) followed the journey of the Dutton family as they made their way as they leave Tennessee and journey west to the land that would ultimately become the Yellowstone. The series ran for just one season and stars May, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliot, LaMonica Garrett, and others.
1923
The second chronological Yellowstone prequel, 1923 debuted in 2022 and was renewed for a second season in 2023. The series picks up a few decades after the end of 1883 and continued to follow the Dutton family, now with the Yellowstone an established ranch, during a particularly challenging time in American history with Prohibition, drought, and the economic depression which hit Montana well ahead of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The series stars Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, and more. It is also narrated by Isabel May.
1944
Announced back in November 2023, the next Yellowstone prequel has the working title of 1944. Details about this particular prequel are few at this point. Given that it’s expected that the series will be set in the 1940s, it is possible that the series will see the impact of World War II on the Dutton family — 1923 has, to an extent, explored the impact of World War I on the Duttons with Spencer Dutton’s story — but at this point that’s just speculation.
2024
The first contemporary-set Yellowstone spinoff, 2024 was also announced back in November 2023 and is expected to pick up the Yellowstone story following the conclusion of the flagship series. Details about this series have also not yet been revealed. There have been reports that Matthew McConaughey has been in talks to star in the spinoff series, though no official casting has been announced thus far.
“Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. cable show with five million viewers into a global hit franchise with over 100 million fans around the world and multiple extensions – and, we’re just getting started,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “On the heels of 1883 and 1923’s success, our new planned spinoffs, 1944 and 2024, will take audiences on a thrilling, new and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise and has helped turn it into a worldwide cultural phenomenon – thanks to the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan.”
“The global success of Yellowstone continues to thrill and excite us at 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch. This has been such an exhilarating ride with our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios and we can’t wait to bring 1944 and 2024 to audiences everywhere,” said David Glasser, CEO, 101 Studios.
6666
In 2022, fan-favorite Yellowstone character Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White) departed the Yellowstone in the Season 4 finale to return to the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas for good after having been sent there earlier in the season. It was the set up for the 6666 spinoff series, with further set up for the spinoff planted in Season 5. However, at this time there hasn’t been much in the way of forward motion on the spinoff, though Sheridan has said that the series is still in the works — people just need to be patient because, unlike Yellowstone Ranch, the Four Sixes is a real ranch (one that Sheridan owns) and is a little more complicated to work with.
“That, for a number of reasons, needs a unique level of special care because this is a real place with real families working here,” Sheridan previously told The Hollywood Reporter. “You have to respect the lineage. I’ve told [the studio] to be patient.”
Not a Spinoff: Lawmen: Bass Reeves
One series that is not a Yellowstone spinoff is Lawmen: Bass Reeves. While the Lawmen series was originally billed as a spinoff, specifically as a spinoff of 1883, the David Oyelowo-starring series became its own, standalone project, something that creator and showrunner Chad Feehan explained. was because the story they needed to tell about Bass Reeves predated 1883.
“But for me, once I learned some of the things I didn’t know about Bass’ life and decided where we wanted to start the story and where we wanted to end the story, it preceded 1883,” he explained. He went on to add that the eight-episode series will take place from roughly 1862 to 1877 — ending six years before 1883, the year the Dutton story begins.
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