Yellowstone, which dropped its midseason finale on Jan. 1, is set to return to the Paramount Network sometime this summer to finish out its fifth season. Fans of the long-running drama have been left with even more questions as to what the future holds for the Dutton dynasty, and how far creator Taylor Sheridan is willing to take the series. Yellowstone hasn't yet been renewed for another installment, but from what Sheridan's said in the past, the Dutton saga could wrap up with a sixth and final season.
Back in 2020, Sheridan said in an interview with Deadline that Yellowstone, then in its fourth season, could very well conclude sooner rather than later:
"You have to keep moving forward, and there have to be consequences in the world, and there has to be an evolution toward a conclusion. Can that be another two seasons beyond this? It could."
The prolific producer went on to say that although he had an ending in mind for the series, there were no official plans in place with Paramount as to how, or when, to wrap the show.
"Well, I know how it ends. I know how the series ends, and you have to move in a straight line toward that end. You can't walk in circles, waiting to get there, because the show will stagnate," Sheridan told the outlet. "I haven't had that conversation with the network or the studio yet. I'm sure it's coming, but I would think that you would want this to end on an upswing as opposed to a plateau or a descent."
In other words, Sheridan wants to quit while he's ahead.
Today, those musings about a six-season arc seem even more credible. In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton) admitted that although he doesn't know what the future holds, more than one of his co-stars are privy to Sheridan's master plan.
"Some of the cast know the end," Grimes said. "Some have been told, some haven't."
You can bet your bottom dollar that the conclusion to the landmark series, which has led to several prequels and spin-offs, will be kept under lock and key. But if Sheridan is letting the cast in on the show's ending now, then, alas, it may not be long before the Duttons ride off into the sunset (or go up in flames).
Yellowstone will return to the Paramount Network this summer, and a teaser for the second half of Season 5 was shared at the end of the midseason finale.
