Yellowstone Season 5B is in full swing on Paramount Network as the series embraces uncharted territory without John Dutton (Kevin Costner) as the main attraction.
Given how Yellowstone airs on a cable network owned and operated by Paramount Global, it’s fair to assume that new episodes would be available after their linear debut on Paramount+.
Sadly, for those who caught up on the show during the hiatus, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the only way to stream new episodes is to purchase them individually from Amazon Prime or Apple.
Yellowstone premiered before Paramount+ existed, meaning that Paramount Global had already closed a deal with NBCUniversal for Peacock to carry past seasons of the show.
The news means that those episodes will be streaming only on Peacock.
Still, they won’t be added to the platform until each season ends, which isn’t ideal because Yellowstone is currently the biggest show on TV, meaning that spoilers are everywhere.
Yellowstone said goodbye to its leading man
Yellowstone Season 5B premiered with a cold open featuring the death of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, so it makes sense that those who cut the cord want to find somewhere to remain in the loop with fresh episodes.
Paramount Network canceled Yellowstone in 2023 amid mounting behind-the-scenes drama reportedly driven by Kevin’s making himself unavailable for shooting as he focused on his western movie franchise Horizon.
There was a lot of media attention as many industry observers questioned whether the show could continue without its leading man.
While we don’t know the full extent of the ins and outs, it seems there was some validity to the reports because the show is back sans Kevin. A body double was used for his character’s final scene on the midseason premiere.
Following reports of Yellowstone’s cancellation, reports circulated that breakout stars Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, and Kelly Reilly were set to reprise their roles in a new spinoff series.
At the time, it seemed that Paramount Network canceling the show would mean that the next iteration wouldn’t have the same streaming deal with Peacock, thus making it easier for viewers to catch up on Paramount+.
However, the cabler has recently changed up its promotional strategy for Yellowstone Season 5B, moving away from it being the end and more about “the epic return.”
The Yellowstone cast will be paid for Season 6 even if it doesn’t happen
The cast of Yellowstone allegedly signed pay or play deals for Yellowstone Season 6, meaning that they will be paid their episodic fees whether the episodes are produced or not.
The TV industry has changed dramatically in recent years as networks grapple with diminished ratings, which has also affected the ad market.
Ending the series while the ratings still make it tower above every other show in the U.S. and still paying the cast for a season that isn’t produced has likely made executives change their stance to bring the show back for another season.
There’s a lot of money to be made from keeping the show alive.
The sad reality, if that’s true, is that episodes will still not be added to Paramount+ the day after their premiere on Paramount Network.
Then again, perhaps Paramount Network will find a way to get out of the streaming deal with Peacock to try to capitalize on all the viewers who don’t have cable.
Yellowstone airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Paramount Network. Stream Seasons 1-5A on Peacock.