'Yellowstone' Season Four Finally Has Its Premiere Date
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After months and months, Yellowstone finally has a return date. Mark your calendars. Grab your cowboy hats, and for Pete's sake someone get a doctor on the phone because we have a man bleeding out on the side of the highway. In mid-August, Paramount Network released the official return date for the sweeping cowboy epic. The fourth season of Taylor Sheridan's Western series will premiere on November 7, coming in just before 2021 makes its final bow.
Not to get too presumptuous, but 2021 may not be the only thing bowing out this winter. In the short clip from the upcoming season, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) looks to be in an even more precarious position than when we last left him in Season Three. Laying on the side of the road, bloody, he seems to be reaching out to a crow that has landed on the road, and if you're a purveyor of animals that signal death, you know that a crow is not a good sign.
But what exactly is on the docket for Season Four? Kelly Reilly has teased that no one's fate is certain... even John Dutton himself. And if that wasn't enough, there's a prequel in the works. Kevin Costner's ranching drama has a number of places that it could go next season, and it's impossible to imagine that any of them will lack in drama, violence, and a touch of country music.
When is Season Four Returning?
The series will make its triumphant return to television on November 7. That's quite a departure from the series regular June airdate, but with the crossover of CBS properties and Paramount Network shows (both owned by the same company), it seems that there may be an opportunity to grow Yellowstone's audience if they cross-promote it while football is on.
Given that information, it's also worth noting that Sheridan has said that he knows how the series will end. Yellowstone may have a few more seasons in the tank, but Sheridan knows the story he wants to tell.
So Where Does the Story Go From Here?
Yellowstone manages to do a stellar job of lining up a villain each season and then setting the Dutton family loose on them. In Season Three, that was Market Equities and the threat of losing the ranch to this giant conglomerate looking to build an airport. That story is decidedly unfinished. With Beth, Kayce, and John's fate seemingly hanging in the balance because of bombs and assault rifles, it seems that we have not seen the last of Roarke and Willa yet. If the three of them make it out alive—John seems fine, but Beth got blown up and Kayce is behind a desk getting peppered with bullets—Willa and Roarke have some 'splainin' to do.
It's also worth noting that Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) is joining the cast as CEO of Market Equities, as reported by Deadline, so don't expect Market Equities or its feud with the Duttons to end any time soon. But the truly intriguing story that we anticipate being fleshed out in Season Four is this ever-present standoff between the indigenous people of Montana and the Dutton family. Monica stands to be a big part of that discussion, and this season teased her as a leader of the cause. That should cause quite a stir between her and Kayce.
Also, it may be a little too soon, but a Rip and Beth wedding could be on the horizon. Since he nabbed his dead mother's wedding ring off of her years-old-decayed hand, he wants to make the move. However, who knows about that situation now. Cowboy boots and dancing music seems like a great visual, but this is also Yellowstone, and a bonafide wedding—especially for two people with such troubled lives—seems like a perfect setting for some kind of disaster or drama. And there's always a new threat on the horizon.
What About This Prequel?
The prequel, 1883, will premiere on Paramount+ on December 19, starring Tim McGraw and Sam Elliott. During Super Bowl LV, fans got a little peek into another side of the Dutton Family Ranch... it just so happens that this one will take audiences back about 125 years in a new series titled 1883. The Duttons of the past aren't particularly the highly influential, rich family we've seen depicted for the past three seasons on Yellowstone. In a statement from Paramount+, where the series will be streaming, the company said that Y: 1883 will be "a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America's promised land—Montana."
The series, unlike Yellowstone, will be streaming on Paramount+, the newly named and newly revamped CBS AllAccess.
Where Can I Get Caught Up?
Great question. If you're behind and want to get caught up, full seasons are available to rent on Amazon and iTunes.
Unfortunately, Yellowstone is not currently available on services like Netflix or Hulu, but if you're an early adopter of the NBC Universal platform, Peacock, you'll have some luck there. You can also check out the season in all of its glory on Paramount Network.
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