‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Premiere Brings a Big Ratings Jump
A whole lot of people watched the Season 5 premiere of Yellowstone on Sunday night (Nov. 13). The Kevin Costner-led drama aired the first two episodes of a split second season. Final ratings were up big over a highly-anticipated Season 4 premiere in 2021.
Season 5 of Yellowstone premiered simultaneously on Paramount Network, CMT, TV Land and Pop. Across the four networks, 10.3 million people watched, versus 9.5 million in 2021.
Yellowstone viewers on Paramount Network (the show's home channel) were up even more — 8.8 million vs. 8 million in 2021. Remaining episodes will only be available on Paramount Network.
While the Season 5 premiere was highly anticipated, it didn't promise to satisfy a cliffhanger like Season 4's premiere did one year ago. Last winter, most of the drama was tied up as the final credits rolled, with fans only wondering if John Dutton would become governor and what Kayce Dutton saw on his vision quest. Those tidbits — while interesting — hardly left fans salivating in the same way the Season 3 attack on the Dutton family (plus extended delay caused by the pandemic) did.
During Ep. 1 of Season 5 of Yellowstone, fans learned the answer to the governor question, but not the vision question. There are no spoilers in this article, but the end of Ep. 1 and beginning of Ep. 2 showed what could be described as the biggest tragedy since Season 1. Fans also learned how Beth Dutton and Jamie Dutton will interact with one another now that both are back working for their father.
Ep. 3 of Yellowstone will air on Sunday (Nov. 20) on Paramount Network. This season, fans can count on two seven-episode halves to make an extended 14-episode arc. It's not clear if the show will continue past Season 5.