Most important: ‘Yellowstone’ ending in the fall

The sequel, which is still untitled, will premiere in December on the Paramount cable network, which also televises “Yellowstone,” Paramount said Friday.

Behind Costner, who played Montana rancher John Dutton, series creator Taylor Sheridan launched an event. The opening of its fifth season in November was seen by 12.1 million viewers on its debut night, more people than any scripted series last fall – a remarkable achievement for a show which is not on the broadcast network.

“We’ve created a show that didn’t start out popular but did it on its own terms,” ​​Costner told the Associated Press last fall.

“Yellowstone” will wrap up with new episodes that will air in November; how many were not announced Friday. The episodes have yet to be filmed, and it’s unclear whether Costner will participate following reports that he wants out of the series.

Paramount would not comment on that Friday, with a spokesman saying only, “Kevin Costner is a big part of ‘Yellowstone’ and we hope that’s the case for a long time.”

David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, which produced “Yellowstone” with MTV Entertainment, said the new series “will pick up where ‘Yellowstone’ leaves off with another epic story.” While the series is not named, the word “Yellowstone” will be part of the title – an important distinction since that is not the case with spinoffs such as “1883” or “1923.”

Paramount has denied published reports that actor Matthew McConaughey has been signed on to star in the sequel. But a spokeswoman said Friday that McConaughey “is an incredible talent that we want to work with.”

Following its debut on the cable network, the sequel will also air on the Paramount+ streaming network.

That’s a key differentiator for the company. “Yellowstone” streams on NBC Universal’s Peacock service, which is owned by Comcastmeaning a large chunk of the revenue generated by the popular drama goes elsewhere.