Yellowstone isn’t ending after all — or at least not entirely.
Following the upcoming season 5 finale, the Yellowstone universe will continue with a spinoff series starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, per a Wednesday, December 11, report from Deadline. According to the outlet, Reilly and Hauser will reprise their respective roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, and Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan will handle the creative side of things.
Yellowstone previously spawned the spinoffs 1883 and 1923, but Deadline reports that this one will be the first to actually use the word “Yellowstone” in the title because it “shares the most DNA” with the original series. Other cast members from the series are expected to appear as well.
Fans of the western drama have long been confused about the future of the Paramount Network flagship series. The network announced in May 2023 that the show would end for good after the second half of season 5, the premiere of which was delayed till last month because of schedule issues and the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
In the lead-up to the season 5B premiere, however, reports circulated that season 6 could still be in the works, or the network might move forward with a spinoff centered on Beth and Rip. Once the new episodes began airing, fans couldn’t help but notice that the advertising billed season 5B as “the epic return” rather than the show’s final outing. The teaser for the Sunday, December 15, episode, meanwhile, billed the episode as the “season finale” rather than the series closer.
Reilly, 47, has played coy about the situation in recent interviews, hinting that she would be open to playing Beth again in the future.
“I am definitely interested in Beth, and who she is after some things have happened,” she told Town & Country in a cover story published last month. “Who is she in peace? As an actor you’re like, ‘Ooh, let me at that.’ Wouldn’t it be fun to watch Beth go to therapy?”
In any case, Dutton patriarch Kevin Costner will not be back for the reported spinoff. Costner, 69, officially exited Yellowstone earlier this year to focus on his Horizon film saga. He also shut down rumors that he was responsible for the season 5B delays.
“I gave them 25 of my days for this B thing in November and December [2022]. What they called 5B. The whole month of March [2023],” he told Deadline in May. “I didn’t shoot 5B. There was no script. And then things imploded.”
He added: “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10.”
