This post contains spoilers for Season 4 of "Yellowstone."
Slowly but surely, "Yellowstone" has won the hearts of many. Since it first aired in 2018, the Paramount Network juggernaut has taken cable television by storm, with more than 11 million viewers tuning into the Season Four finale earlier this year.
The series follows the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who own the largest contiguous ranch in the United States — for now, at least. Developers and investors have been playing hardball with the Duttons in hopes that they'll give in and let them buy their land, but John has no plans to sell.
That's not even half of it. "Yellowstone" is rife with romance, violence, deceit and family drama. In the Season Four finale alone, we saw a wedding, murder, court sentencing and spiritual awakening.
Luckily for "Yellowstone" fans, there's plenty more where that came from (and no, we're not talking about the prequel series "1932"). Here's what we know about Season Five, including the highly-anticipated release date.
'Yellowstone' will return in November
Dust off your cowboy hat because we'll be back at Dutton ranch in no time! On May 18, Paramount Network officially renewed "Yellowstone" for Season Five, which will return with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, Nov. 13, ahead of the series debut of "Tulsa King."
The Season 5 trailer reminds us that "power has a price"
But what are the Duttons willing — and able — to pay?
On Thursday, September 29, Paramount Network dropped the Season 5 trailer, which introduces us to a world where John is governor — and, as one can imagine, his new title brings a whole new set of problems.
His first move: hiring Beth as his chief of staff, prompting Jamie to cry this "is a declaration of war." Then, in true “Yellowstone” fashion, chaos erupts. The rest of the trailer gives us a glimpse at the tension, conflict and explosive action to come.
Back in August, Paramount Network released a 16-second teaser to hold "Yellowstone" fans over.
In the clip, John Dutton declares, "We’ll show the world who we are and what we do," as footage of Beth, Kayce, Jamie and Rip flashes by. It ends with a message for fans, teasing that "all will be revealed" in the coming episodes.
'Yellowstone' Season 5 will be the longest season yet
The wait will be worth it, especially since we're getting 14 brand-new episodes instead of the usual 10. The show's fifth season will be split into two installments of seven episodes each, but the release date for the second set has yet to be released.
The cast, including Kevin Costner, is saddling up again — along with some new folks
Let's get this out of the way: John Dutton — or Costner, for that matter — isn't going anywhere anytime soon. When Paramount Network announced that Josh Lucas was returning as a younger John Dutton for Season Five, some "Yellowstone" fans feared Costner's days on Dutton ranch were nearly over.
While Costner remains coy about his future on the show, he told Extra that he doesn't "want to die" because he has "just too much to do."
The rest of the cast is also locked in for another season.
- Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton, the tough-as-nails daughter of John Dutton who Reilly describes as a "fearless thunderstorm of a woman."
- Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, a Livestock Commissioner and the youngest of the Dutton children who ended Season Four on a three-day cleansing ritual to deal with past traumas.
- Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton, John's adopted son who has a complicated relationship with his siblings — to say the least.
- Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler, Beth's husband and a trusted ranch hand.
- Kelsey Asbille as Monica Dutton, Kayce's wife and Tate's mother. She is currently pregnant with the couple's second child — and Asbille promised TV Insider that "Season Five Monica is going to be a different Monica, for sure."
- Brecken Merrill as Tate, the son of Kayce and Monica. The last few seasons have been traumatic for him: After surviving a kidnapping attempt, the young boy shot and killed a man who was attacking his mother.
- Jefferson White as Jimmy, a former ranch hand at Dutton ranch who received John's blessing to move to 6666 Ranch with his fiancé, Emily.
- Forrie Smith as Lloyd, another member of the bunkhouse at Dutton ranch.
- Denim Richards as Colby, a ranch hand at Dutton ranch.
- Ian Bohen as Ryan, a ranch hand and livestock agent at Dutton ranch. When talking about his hopes for Season Five, the actor told TV Insider that he'd "like to have a love interest and to watch him be a person detached from the ranch and not just an arm of that entity."
- Finn Little as Carter, a troubled young boy who has been under Beth's care since his father died.
- Ryan Bingham as Walker, a former prisoner who now works at Dutton ranch.
- Gil Birmingham as Thomas Rainwater, the chief of Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Last season, he made friends with the enemy (the Dutton family) once he realized that they were fighting the same fight against land developers.
- Mo Brings Plentyas Mo, Rainwater’s driver and right-hand man.
- Jen Landon as Teeter, the fiery ranch hand who arrived in Season Three to shake things up at the bunkhouse.
- Kathryn Kelly as Emily, Jimmy's fiancé who works at 6666 Ranch in Texas.
- Wendy Monizas Governor Lynelle Perry who has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with John.
- Piper Perabo as Summer Higgins, an animal rights activist who is currently serving eight months in prison for leading a violent protest.
- Kylie Rogersas young Beth Dutton.
- Kyle Red Silversteinas young Rip Wheeler.
A few new characters will make their debut in Season Five
Meet the new characters joining the action for Season Five.
- Kai Caster as Rowdy, a young cowboy.
- Lainey Wilson as Abby, a local musician.
- Lilli Kayas Clara Brewer, a new assistant for the Dutton family.
- Dawn Olivierias Sarah Atwood, "a confident, corporate shark and a new arrival to Montana," per Deadline.
Season 5 will pick up right where Season 4 left off
According to Costner's recent Instagram post, "Yellowstone" fans are in for "another wild ride." That's quite the statement given all that happened in Season Four.
Although we're five seasons in, the fate of the Dutton's land is still in question. "People who think that one man has too much, there’s people that know what they would do with the land. The whole thing of all these people attacking this guy and he’s trying to hold on to it," Costner told Extra, revealing that his character will continue to put up a fight in the upcoming season.
With John as governor, he'll have a better chance of protecting his land from investors and builders. It helps that Lynelle, who has her eye on the U.S. Senate (and previously, John), publicly endorsed him.
Then there's the fact that Beth has blackmail on her brother, Jamie. Once she learned that Garrett, Jamie's biological father, was behind the attacks that nearly killed the Duttons (with the exception of Jamie), Beth sought revenge. In the end, she convinced Jamie to kill Garrett — and then took photos of her brother discarding his body. That said, Reilly told Vulture that "Beth is probably at her most powerful" at the start of Season Five.
But, of course, the question on everybody’s minds: Who — or what — was Kayce referring to when he told Monica, “I saw the end of us”? Could it be the couple, the Dutton family, the family's land or something else entirely? Only time will tell.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Season Five will also bring a new baby, new beginnings and budding romances (Perabo told Entertainment Weekly that Summer and John's "love story is kicking into gear.")
The cast is already talking about the show's ending
"Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan has made it clear that he doesn't want to overstay his welcome.
"There’s only so much hovering one can do before the story starts to lose its locomotion; you can’t put it in neutral just because it’s successful. It will go as many years as it takes for me to tell the story, but you’re not going to see nine seasons of it," he said in an interview with the New York Times.
When Extra asked Costner if Season Five would be its last, he admitted that he's unsure but the show "still has the foot on the gas." Make of that what you will.
