Yellowstone: Everything We Know About the Spin-off Starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser

What’s this now? You thought the Yellowstone season 5 finale was the last chapter in the Dutton-family legacy? Never. A franchise this popular—with two spin-offs to its name already—doesn’t just pack up its toys because Daddy Costner left the room. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan made it abundantly clear last week that the motto going forward is “No Kevin Costner? No problem!” Whether audiences agree with Sheridan is another story. (They do not.) But Sheridan has nearly a dozen other shows he’s working on for Paramount. What’s one more?

According to Deadline, Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly will lead a Yellowstonespin-off series, reprising their roles as Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton, respectively. The story will most likely pick up after the season 5 finale—which changed its branding from “series finale” to “season finale” last week. Eagle-eyed viewers already clocked the confusing marketing switch-up following Yellowstoneseason 5’s penultimate episode. As it turns out, that wasn’t a typo on Paramount’s part.

For everything we know so far about the new spin-off, continue reading below.

Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton) will lead her own spin-off series alongside Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler).

Is This Just YellowstoneSeason 6?

Yes, basically. In Yellowstone’s early days, Paramount Network signed an exclusive streaming deal with NBCUniversal. That’s why audiences can only stream Yellowstone on Peacock and not Paramount+. Spin-offs of the flagship series, however, such as 1883 and 1923, are solely Paramount+ properties. So moving the sixth season of Yellowstone over to Paramount under a new name was likely the goal all along.

Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton) may not return.

Who Else Is Returning?

Certainly not Kevin Costner. Sheridan killed off his character—the family’s patriarch, John Dutton—following a behind-the-scenes feud that placed season 5 on hiatus for nearly two years. Since the series returned, Sheridan turned his attention toward wrapping up loose ends. Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) is killed to keep John Dutton’s assassination trail cold. Plus, Beth and Rip sold a massive amount of cattle and horses just to keep their ranch afloat. In the second-to-last episode, Kayce (Luke Grimes) comes up with a plan that just might save Yellowstone ranch forever.

The youngest Dutton sibling was left out of the new report from Deadline, meaning that Kayce may depart the series in season 5’s finale. “There’s always talks of spin-offs,” Grimes told Esquire ahead of the finale. “I’d do it [but] I just don’t understand how it would work once the story ends. Kayce wants to cowboy and be happy with his family. He doesn’t want to kill people anymore. He doesn’t want the weight of a huge mega ranch that isn’t sustainable in today’s times. He wants his little slice of heaven. It’s that simple.”

The spin-off rumors confirm that season 5 is not end of Yellowstone.

What About The Madison?

As far as we’ve heard, The Madison is still happening as well. The second season of1923is next on the docket for the Yellowstone universe—which will conclude the Harrison Ford–starring tale of the post–World War I Dutton family. Then yet another new spin-off series titled The Madison is set to air featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lost’s Matthew Fox. The Madison reportedly follows a New York family named the Clyburns, who move out to Montana in search of a new life.

If The Madison runs concurrently with this new sequel spin-off about Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, I could envision a Chicago Fire/Chicago P.D./Chicago Medsetup for Yellowstone moving forward. There’s massive potential for crossovers—and even multipart plots involving characters from both shows. That’s the one problem with spin-offs like 1883 and 1923: Wveryone’s dead by the time the new season of Yellowstone saddles up.

That’s all we know for now! If Paramount is listening, a formal announcement about Yellowstone’s future would be a massive help to us all. Hopefully Yellowstone fans will have a clearer picture of the road ahead following the season 5 finale.