Kevin Costner’s popular television western “Yellowstone” will end this fall and be replaced almost immediately by a sequel.
According to Paramount, the sequel, still untitled, will air on the Paramount cable network in December.
Besides Costner, who played Montana rancher John Dutton, series creator Taylor Sheridan helped launch the series. Its fifth season premiered last November to 12.1 million viewers, more than any other scripted series last fall — a remarkable feat for a show not on a broadcast network.
Last fall, Costner told The Associated Press, “We have been able to create a show that didn’t start out being popular but has become popular on its own terms.”
In November, new episodes of “Yellowstone” will air; how many haven’t been filmed yet, and it’s still not known if Costner will participate following reports he may want out.
The studio refused to comment on that Friday, saying only, “Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that remains the case.”
According to David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, which produces “Yellowstone” with MTV Entertainment, “The new series will pick up where “Yellowstone” ends with another epic tale.” Even though the series hasn’t been named, “Yellowstone” will appear on its title, which wasn’t the case with spinoffs like “1883” or “1923.”
A spokesperson for Paramount said Friday that McConaughey is a “phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to work.”
NBC Universal’s Peacock service, owned by Comcast, streams “Yellowstone,” which means a large portion of its revenue is going elsewhere.
