‘Yellowstone’ Season 6: Is It Happening After John Dutton’s Death?

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There’s been Yellowstone drama on and off the TV screen. Given the ongoing questions regarding Yellowstone’s future, this has fans wondering: will there be a season 6? The show is a massive hit, but has the show been canceled. Now that season 5 part 2 has already premiered — and includes a major character’s death — Hollywood Life has all the latest updates about the show’s future, including what we know about that Matthew McConaughey spinoff.

Warning: spoilers ahead for Yellowstone season 5 part 2. 

Will There Be A Yellowstone Season 6?

Paramount Network has not officially announced the fate of Yellowstone beyond season 5. The show remains one of TV’s most popular shows, so it seemed like at the beginning of season 5 that a sixth season was pretty much a done deal. With the past behind-the-scenes drama, it’s unclear if Yellowstone will live to see a season 6.

Regarding the future of Yellowstone, Paramount president and CEO Chris McCarthy previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the show “wouldn’t be what it is today without Kevin and we hope that that stays for a long time to come.” As of November 2024, there’s still no official word about Yellowstone season 6.

Is Yellowstone Ending With Season 5?

It’s not looking good for Yellowstone fans. In February 2023, Deadline reported that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, along with Paramount Global and Paramount Network, was looking to end the flagship series with the current fifth season. According to the outlet, the reason behind the show possibly coming to end involved disagreements with Kevin Costner over shooting schedules.

The Oscar winner reportedly limited himself to 65 days of shooting Yellowstone originally but wanted to shorten that to 50 days in the first half of season 5 and only a week for the second half. The filming situation has reportedly been causing “morale problems” for the other stars of the show. The outlet said that Kevin made a proposal but Paramount Network declined and “made the decision to move on to the other show.”

“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come. Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner,” a Paramount Network spokesperson told Deadline at the time.

A few weeks later, Kevin’s lawyer, Marty Singer, denied the report that the actor was holding up Yellowstone season 5. “The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,” Marty told Puck.News in response to an exposé titled “Casualties of the Costner-Yellowstone Crossfire” that had been published. “It’s ridiculous — and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”

The fate of Yellowstone continued to look very uncertain after the main cast did not appear at the show’s PaleyFest event on April 1. Taylor and executive producer David Glassner, along with Kevin, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, and Jacki Weaver, were part of the original list of creatives and cast expected to attend. The cast reportedly couldn’t attend “due to scheduling conflicts,” according to Variety. The show previously announced that Yellowstone season 5 would return for the second half in the summer, but the show has not started filming and a start date has not been revealed.

Is Matthew McConaughey Going To Be In Yellowstone?

Matthew McConaughey is not expected to appear in the flagship Yellowstone series. When it was reported that Yellowstone would be ending with season 5, Deadline also revealed that a spinoff led by the Oscar winner was in the works. The outlet also noted at the time that it was “unclear which of the Yellowstone cast will move over to the McConaughey-led series, but it is expected to include several of the big stars.”

Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Global, and Paramount Network reportedly are “plotting a potential franchise extension to continue the Dutton saga” with Matthew. In March 2023, Paramount president and CEO Chris McCarthy confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the spinoff with Matthew would be “moving forward regardless of whether Costner returns to the original.”

What Happened At The End Of Yellowstone Season 5?

The first half of Yellowstone season 5 set the stage for an epic second half of the season. Jamie made a bold play against John by calling for his impeachment as governor of Montana. Beth confronted Jamie about his attack on John and threatened to expose that he killed his father. Jamie took that moment to tell Beth her idea would be mutually assured destruction because “a century’s worth” of family secrets are at the “train station.”

Jamie and Beth declared war on each other. Beth immediately ran to John to let him know that she is now aware of the “train station,” and Jamie will use it against him. “He will use everything that he knows to destroy you. He’s made it clear,” Beth said.

Beth told her father that it was time to get rid of Jamie. As Beth and John were plotting what to do next, Jamie and his new fling Sarah discussed hiring someone to kill Beth or hurt someone very close to her.

Meanwhile, Monica and Kayce decided to move back to the ranch to help John dealt with being governor. Rip and the bunkhouse also traveled south to save the ranch’s cattle herd.

Part 2 of Yellowstone aired on November 10, 2024, and it killed off one major character — John Dutton (Costner). Beth returns home to see police outside. After asking if this was “a crime scene” involving her father, she and Kayce walk into the house to see a corpse on the ground. John was killed by a gunshot wound, but his face is not shown on camera, as the actor wasn’t on set to film the scene. While Beth and Kayce mourn John’s death, Beth says, “It was Jamie.”