Yellowstone Episode Guide: Complete Season 1-5 Schedule, Episode Counts and Release Dates

The Quick Answer

Yellowstone has 53 episodes across 5 seasons. The series premiered on Paramount Network on June 20, 2018, and concluded with its series finale on December 15, 2024. Season 5 was split into two parts — 5A (8 episodes, late 2022) and 5B (6 episodes, late 2024) — after Kevin Costner's departure reshaped the final chapter. Yellowstone is a completed series; there will be no Season 6.

Use this page as the master reference for every season's episode count, air dates, and how the flagship series connects to the wider Dutton Ranch saga.

Start here if you want the season-by-season breakdown:

• Season 1 (2018): 9 episodes — the Dutton Ranch under siege for the first time
• Season 2 (2019): 10 episodes — the war with Roarke and Market Equities begins
• Season 3 (2020): 10 episodes — the ranch is attacked on three fronts
• Season 4 (2021-2022): 10 episodes — the family regroups after the Season 3 ambush
• Season 5, Part 1 (2022-2023): 8 episodes — John Dutton becomes Governor of Montana
• Season 5, Part 2 (2024): 6 episodes — the series finale and the end of the Dutton Ranch era

Start Here: Best Next Reads

Complete Season-by-Season Schedule

Given Yellowstone's scale — 53 episodes over six years — this guide organizes the schedule by season rather than listing all 53 episodes individually. Each season functioned as its own self-contained chapter in the Dutton family's fight to keep their ranch.

The series is complete. All 53 episodes are available for streaming, primarily on Peacock. No further seasons of Yellowstone itself are planned — the Dutton story continues instead through spinoffs like Dutton Ranch.

Most Read Yellowstone Guides

These are the best pages to read after the schedule:

• Yellowstone TV Series: Episodes, Cast & Reviews
• Is Yellowstone Ending? What Happens After Season 5
• Who Killed John Dutton?
• Does Rip Wheeler Die in Yellowstone?
• Is Dutton Ranch Connected to Yellowstone?
• Best Order to Watch Yellowstone

Season Overview: Six Years of the Dutton Ranch War

Season 1 (2018): The Line Is Drawn

Yellowstone opens with John Dutton III (Kevin Costner) as the aging patriarch of the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, fending off land developers, the neighboring Broken Rock Reservation led by Thomas Rainwater, and a state government eager to see the ranch subdivided. The 9-episode debut season introduces Beth Dutton, Kayce Dutton, Jamie Dutton, and Rip Wheeler, and establishes the central conflict that would drive the entire series: a family willing to do anything — including kill — to keep their land.

Season 2 (2019): Market Equities and the First Betrayals

Season 2 escalates the fight against corporate land grabs as Market Equities and casino mogul Roarke Morris target the ranch directly. Jamie's political ambitions put him at odds with his father, and the family circles the wagons against enemies both external and internal. The season ends with one of the show's most dramatic cliffhangers, a coordinated attack that nearly wipes out the entire Dutton family in a single night.

Season 3 (2020): The Ranch Under Siege

Building directly on Season 2's finale, Season 3 shows the fallout from the coordinated hits on John, Kayce, and Beth. Monica Dutton and Kayce's relationship is tested, Beth survives an assassination attempt via car bomb that leaves her permanently scarred, and the family's enemies grow more sophisticated — shifting from cattle rustlers to boardroom predators.

Season 4 (2021-2022): Regrouping and Retaliation

Season 4 opens in the aftermath of the Season 3 attacks and follows the family as they identify and eliminate the people responsible. Rip and Beth's relationship deepens, Kayce takes on more responsibility as Livestock Commissioner, and John begins his unlikely campaign for Governor of Montana — a decision that sets up the entire final season.

Season 5, Part 1 (2022-2023): Governor Dutton

With John now Governor of Montana, the family gains political power but faces new threats from within, including Jamie's deepening resentment and Sarah Atwood's corporate scheming on behalf of Market Equities. This 8-episode first half ends on a shocking cliffhanger involving John Dutton's fate, setting the stage for the two-year gap before the story concluded.

Season 5, Part 2 (2024): The Final Six Episodes

After Kevin Costner's real-world departure from the series, the concluding 6 episodes reveal that John Dutton was murdered — poisoned and shot to stage a suicide — with Jamie's complicity exposed as the driving mystery of the back half. The season resolves the succession war, Beth's decades-long feud with Jamie, and the ultimate fate of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch itself.

Key Storylines Across the Series

1. The Land War — Every season returns to the same core conflict: developers, casinos, and the Broken Rock Reservation all want a piece of the Yellowstone Ranch, and the Duttons will kill to stop them.
2. Beth vs. Jamie — The defining sibling rivalry of the series, rooted in Jamie's role in Beth's forced sterilization as a teenager, escalates across all five seasons and culminates in the finale.
3. Kayce and Monica's Divided Loyalties — Kayce is torn between his Dutton blood and his marriage into the Broken Rock Reservation, a tension that runs through the entire run.
4. Rip Wheeler's Devotion — The ranch foreman's unwavering loyalty to the Dutton family, and his central romance with Beth, anchors the show's emotional core.
5. John Dutton's Political Awakening — John's reluctant run for Governor in Season 4 reshapes the stakes of Season 5, tying the ranch's fate directly to Montana state politics.
6. Succession — Who inherits the Yellowstone Ranch becomes the driving question of the back half of the series, resolved only in the finale.

For deeper character analysis, see: Who Is Beth Dutton? and Who Killed John Dutton?

The Series Finale: How Yellowstone Ended

The series finale, "Life Is a Promise" (December 15, 2024), resolved the succession war that had defined the back half of the series. Jamie's role in orchestrating John Dutton's murder is exposed, and Beth — with Rip's help — kills Jamie in his own home. Rather than pass the ranch to any of the surviving Dutton children, the family sells the Yellowstone Ranch to Thomas Rainwater and the Broken Rock Reservation for a nominal $1.25 per acre, on the condition the land remains untouched and undeveloped forever, honoring John's lifelong wish to keep it from being subdivided.

Beth and Rip, along with their adopted son Carter, leave Montana behind for a quiet, secluded property, while Kayce and Monica choose their own path away from ranch life. This resolution directly set up Dutton Ranch, the 2026 spinoff following Beth and Rip's new life in South Texas.

For the full breakdown, see: Is Yellowstone Ending? What Happens After Season 5

How to Watch

Because Yellowstone is fully complete, there is no weekly release schedule to track — every episode across all 5 seasons is available for binge-watching right now.

Comparing Episode Counts Across the Yellowstone Universe

Yellowstone remains the largest single series in the franchise by episode count — more than double any other entry — reflecting its six-year run as the flagship show that launched the entire Dutton universe.

Production Notes

• Creators: Taylor Sheridan, John Linson
• Network: Paramount Network
• Production Companies: Bosque Ranch Productions, Script to Screen, MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios
• Setting: Present-day Montana, on and around the fictional Yellowstone Dutton Ranch
• Lead Cast: Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham
• Original Run: June 20, 2018 – December 15, 2024
• IMDb Rating: 8.7/10

For the full cast and production breakdown, see: Yellowstone TV Series Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Yellowstone have total?

Yellowstone has 53 episodes across 5 seasons: Season 1 (9 episodes), Season 2 (10 episodes), Season 3 (10 episodes), Season 4 (10 episodes), Season 5 Part 1 (8 episodes), and Season 5 Part 2 (6 episodes).

How did Yellowstone end?

The series finale, "Life Is a Promise," aired December 15, 2024. Beth and Rip exposed and killed Jamie for his role in John Dutton's murder, and the family sold the Yellowstone Ranch to the Broken Rock Reservation for $1.25 per acre to keep it permanently undeveloped, fulfilling John's dying wish. See the full breakdown at Is Yellowstone Ending?

Is there a Yellowstone Season 6?

No. Yellowstone concluded with Season 5, Part 2 in December 2024, and Paramount has not announced a Season 6. The franchise instead continues through spinoffs including Dutton Ranch (following Beth and Rip), The Madison, and the upcoming 6666 and 1944 prequel projects. As of this writing, there is no confirmed plan to revive the original Yellowstone series itself.

Why was Season 5 split into two parts?

Season 5 was originally planned as a single season, but production delays, Kevin Costner's scheduling conflicts with his film projects, and his eventual departure from the series led Paramount to split it into two distinct halves — Part 1 airing in late 2022/early 2023, and Part 2 arriving nearly two years later in November-December 2024 as a shortened, 6-episode conclusion.

Do I need to watch 1883 or 1923 before Yellowstone?

No. Yellowstone works as a standalone series and was the first show released chronologically. 1883 and 1923 are prequels released later that add historical context to the Dutton family's origins, but you can watch the franchise in either release order or story order. See Best Order to Watch Yellowstone for a full breakdown.

Where can I watch all 53 episodes of Yellowstone?

All 5 seasons are streaming on Peacock, with select seasons also available on Paramount+. Individual episodes can be purchased digitally on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.

Does the Yellowstone Ranch still exist in the story after the finale?

Yes, but not under Dutton family ownership. In the finale, the ranch was sold to the Broken Rock Reservation under Thomas Rainwater with a permanent conservation easement preventing development — meaning the land itself survives, just without the Duttons running it. The family's story continues in Dutton Ranch, set on a new property in South Texas.