Here's Everything You Need To Know About Kevin Costner's Departure From "Yellowstone," And What's Next For The Show

There are MASSIVE spoilers ahead for Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2! This post also contains mentions of suicide. 

For the last few years, Yellowstone has been one of the biggest TV shows currently airing. While the show might seem underrated to some, millions of people are obsessed with this hit cowboy series.

Emerson Miller / Paramount Network

Just this week, the return of Yellowstone Season 5 drew in 13.5 million viewers, with the new episode airing on CBS and eight other Paramount-owned cable networks.

It's a massive number for a show that doesn't stream new episodes immediately the next day and relies on people tuning in every week.

The series has been airing since 2018, with each season getting bigger (and better) than the last. Created by Taylor Sheridan and led by Kevin Costner, Yellowstone tells the story of the Dutton family, who own the largest cattle ranch that borders the Broken Rock Indian reservation and Yellowstone National Park.

Paramount Network / Everett Collection

The show chronicles the conflicts that arise between the Duttons, land developers, politicians, and more. 

When the series premiered in 2018, only 2.83 million people tuned in, just to give some perspective on how many people have since found the series.

Over the past five seasons, Yellowstone has delivered some jaw-dropping plot twists and some of my favorite character arcs on TV right now. Like, Kelly Reilly's portrayal of Beth Dutton is one of the BEST TV performances of all time and I will die on that hill.

While the show has never been bigger, it's sadly ending after the final six episodes air this year and after a two-year hiatus between Season 5, Part 1, and Part 2 after reported behind-the-scenes drama.

In 2023, numerous reports circulated surrounding Yellowstone, with many pointing to a reported scheduling dispute with Costner over finishing Season 5. According to The Hollywood Reporter, filming was supposed to resume in March 2023 with an intended summer premiere date. However, that never happened.

Then, in May 2023, Paramount announced the somewhat abrupt ending to Yellowstone, with many fans confused as to why the series was suddenly ending. However, the end of Yellowstone would not actually come until November 2024 because production on the final six episodes was also delayed by last year's writers and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which halted productions across Hollywood.

When production eventually started back up on Yellowstone following the conclusion of both strikes, it was still going to be the final season AND Costner was officially not returning.

In a 2023 cover story with The Hollywood Reporter, creator Taylor Sheridan spoke about Costner's decision to depart the show earlier than anticipated, saying, "My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, 'We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],' which we did."

It was reported that Costner requested to work fewer days on Yellowstone over the last few seasons in order to focus on his movies. However, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that "Kevin's being unfairly portrayed in this thing" as they claimed he was continuously waiting on scripts.

Eventually, scripts were reportedly re-written once it was apparent that John Dutton would not be in the remaining six episodes of the series. Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it."

And so that brings us to this past weekend, when Yellowstone finally returned and kicked off the final six episodes of the series with, well, John Dutton's death.

That's right. Season 5, Part 2 began with Beth and Kayce (Luke Grimes) immediately rushing to John's Governor's mansion to find an active crime scene. Eventually, they go inside and it's revealed that John seemingly killed himself.

Costner is never shown in the Part 2 premiere as the show shifts focus to John's children, namely Beth, who is dealing with her grief and vows to get revenge, specifically on Jamie (Wes Bentley).

Following the release of the episode, Costner told SiriusXM's The Michael Smerconish Program, "I didn't see it. I heard it's a suicide, so that doesn't make me want to rush to go see it ... Well, they're pretty smart people. Maybe it's a red herring. Who knows? They're very good. And they'll figure that out."

Now, while Yellowstone is set to end after these remaining five episodes, there are still questions surrounding whether this will really be the end of these characters or if the flagship show is simply ending with potential for more spinoffs on the horizon.

Following Costner's departure, two more Yellowstone universe spinoffs have already been announced. First, Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick J. Adams, and Matthew Fox are set to star in The Madison, which follows an NYC family living in Montana.

Another prequel series is set to happen, titled 1944, which will follow the same structure as 1883 and 1923. And the previously announced spinoff 6666, which even had a backdoor pilot in Yellowstone, is now on hold.

Despite these two greenlit spinoffs, one that everyone is clamoring for would be centered on Beth and Rip (Cole Hauser), with both being two of the most beloved characters on Yellowstone. While there is no official word on whether this could become a reality, Hauser recently told People that he would be up for a spinoff if the opportunity presented itself and if Sheridan was still leading it as the creator/writer.

So there you have it! For now, we've got a ton of spinoffs, but also the last episodes of Yellowstone to enjoy. Personally, it's going to be really hard to say goodbye to Beth Dutton if this is the last we see of Reilly as that character.

What did you think of how Yellowstone handled Costner's departure? Would you watch another spinoff? Tell us in the comments below.

New episodes of Yellowstone currently air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network. You can stream previous seasons on Peacock.