Yellowstone is more than a national park—it's also the name of the Paramount Network series my father wouldn't stop talking about over Christmas.
Having little knowledge about the neo-Western drama, I threw on Yellowstone out of curiosity, only to find my next television obsession. For those who've yet to jump on the Yellowstone bandwagon, the series follows John Dutton (Kevin Costner), the patriarch of a powerful ranching family who constantly fights to protect his land. Then, there are John's adult children: oldest Lee (Dave Annable), who works as head of security for the ranch, second oldest Jamie (Wes Bentley), an aspiring politician, only daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly), a ruthless financier, and the youngest, Kayce (Luke Grimes), who lived on a Native American reservation before moving back to Dutton Ranch.
Essentially, it's like the Montana-version of Succession. So it's no wonder Yellowstone is a hit for the Paramount Network.
In fact, according to Deadline, the season four finale on Jan. 2 brought in 9.3 million total viewers. Yes, you read that correctly.
But wait, the viewing numbers spiked to 11 million viewers thanks to encore airings and a simulcast with CMT. "Yellowstone continues to shatter records with more than 11 million viewers tuning into the season finale," Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, ViacomCBS Media Networks, said in a statement, "proving we've hit a cultural nerve—from the center of the country to each of the coasts—and still have lots of room to grow on linear."
As he continued, McCarthy highlighted how the franchise is set to grow, following the launch of the prequel series 1883 and upcoming plans for a spin-off, called 6666.
Executive producer David C. Glasser expressed a similar sentiment, noting, "It is incredibly rewarding to see the Yellowstone audience continue to expand even as we come to the close of our 4th season. This expansion is a true testament to the original voices and universe that Taylor [Sheridan] created."
We should mention that the shocking death in the season four finale likely helped draw in viewers, but we won't say more than that as to not spoil anything.
Eager to jump on the Yellowstone bandwagon with me? Stream Yellowstone on Paramount+ now.