‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Everything to Know About John Dutton’s Fate and More

Credit: Kevin Lynch Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Everything to Know About John Dutton’s Fate and More

Talk about a cliffhanger! Yellowstone left multiple lives hanging in the balance when the season 3 finale aired in August 2020. Season 4 will finally answer some lingering questions when the show returns in November 2021. The Dutton family dealt with an attack on all fronts in the season 3 closer. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was shot on the side of the road, his daughter Beth’s (Kelly Reilly) office was bombed and his son Kayce (Luke Grimes) took fire in his own office as gunmen ambushed him. Wes Bentley, who plays John’s adopted son, Jamie, on the Paramount Network drama, considered the shocking finale a reset. “When I read the script, I was like, ‘Oh?!’ With [cocreator] Taylor [Sheridan], we’ll be on a path down one way and he’ll cut the branches on the side so we’re going to tumble down with him,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly in August 2020. “I think big, big, dramatic things happen, violent things happen, and in a lot of ways it defines the show because that’s who gets the ultimate say. It comes down to that [brutality]. Outside of aliens landing, I don’t know where Taylor is going to go from here. He gave himself the ability to go from any angle now.” Despite the major shifts ahead, Bentley noted that Sheridan’s moves leading into season 4 were coordinated. “To restart or refresh, he definitely has left himself an open door for a lot of options. I think that’s clever,” he continued. “He has a plan, so I think he was ahead of it. As an audience, it feels like the board got wiped and we can write some new things on that board.” [jwplayer p9ZNfnSM-zhNYySv2] The season 3 cliffhanger caused a slew of fan theories to emerge, including some that pointed the finger at the Hunger Games star. “I love fan fiction and fans guessing,” he said. “I don’t go online, but I get told these things literally on the phone with my mom. I love that, and you know, fans get involved and have theories and we’re going to have a lot of fun with it. It’s going to be a blast to hear about what fans think as a community.” Costner, meanwhile, has played coy about his future on the series in the year since the finale aired, but fans can expect to jump back into the action in the season 4 premiere. “Where we pick up is right where we left off,” Bentley hinted in a September 2021 YouTube video. “The action of the scene is real time. My heart was pumping just reading it.” It seems nothing is off the table in season 4 either. "It's high stakes, high energy. It's fast, it's dangerous. It's wild," the American Beauty actor exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2021. "It's very dangerous for Jamie and everyone else." Scroll through the gallery below to read everything we know so far about season 4 of Yellowstone. The first three seasons are streaming exclusively on Peacock. [podcast_block]

Credit: Kevin Lynch Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Everything to Know About John Dutton’s Fate and More

Talk about a cliffhanger! Yellowstone left multiple lives hanging in the balance when the season 3 finale aired in August 2020. Season 4 will finally answer some lingering questions when the show returns in November 2021. The Dutton family dealt with an attack on all fronts in the season 3 closer. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was shot on the side of the road, his daughter Beth’s (Kelly Reilly) office was bombed and his son Kayce (Luke Grimes) took fire in his own office as gunmen ambushed him. Wes Bentley, who plays John’s adopted son, Jamie, on the Paramount Network drama, considered the shocking finale a reset. “When I read the script, I was like, ‘Oh?!’ With [cocreator] Taylor [Sheridan], we’ll be on a path down one way and he’ll cut the branches on the side so we’re going to tumble down with him,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly in August 2020. “I think big, big, dramatic things happen, violent things happen, and in a lot of ways it defines the show because that’s who gets the ultimate say. It comes down to that [brutality]. Outside of aliens landing, I don’t know where Taylor is going to go from here. He gave himself the ability to go from any angle now.” Despite the major shifts ahead, Bentley noted that Sheridan’s moves leading into season 4 were coordinated. “To restart or refresh, he definitely has left himself an open door for a lot of options. I think that’s clever,” he continued. “He has a plan, so I think he was ahead of it. As an audience, it feels like the board got wiped and we can write some new things on that board.” [jwplayer p9ZNfnSM-zhNYySv2] The season 3 cliffhanger caused a slew of fan theories to emerge, including some that pointed the finger at the Hunger Games star. “I love fan fiction and fans guessing,” he said. “I don’t go online, but I get told these things literally on the phone with my mom. I love that, and you know, fans get involved and have theories and we’re going to have a lot of fun with it. It’s going to be a blast to hear about what fans think as a community.” Costner, meanwhile, has played coy about his future on the series in the year since the finale aired, but fans can expect to jump back into the action in the season 4 premiere. “Where we pick up is right where we left off,” Bentley hinted in a September 2021 YouTube video. “The action of the scene is real time. My heart was pumping just reading it.” It seems nothing is off the table in season 4 either. "It's high stakes, high energy. It's fast, it's dangerous. It's wild," the American Beauty actor exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2021. "It's very dangerous for Jamie and everyone else." Scroll through the gallery below to read everything we know so far about season 4 of Yellowstone. The first three seasons are streaming exclusively on Peacock. [podcast_block]

Credit: Danno Nell/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

When Does It Premiere?

Season 4 of Yellowstone kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Paramount Network Sunday, November 7, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode will be simulcast on TV Land, CMT and Pop TV.  

Credit: James Minchin/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Is John Dutton Dead?

Costner has remained tight-lipped about whether he is leaving Yellowstone, but he has offered some hints. “I can’t say. I mean, there’s an ending that you’re gonna see — hopefully it’s a powerful one for you,” he explained during a December 2020 appearance on Good Day New York. “I try to make things and be a part of things that have a dramatic arc to them, so I just try to enjoy it right up to the end if you can.”  

The Dances With Wolves star also sparked speculation about his involvement in season 4 when he posted an Instagram photo of himself seemingly in character on the set. “It’s hard to beat Montana in October,” he wrote in October 2020. “Easy to see why everyone wants a piece of #Yellowstone ranch!” 

Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Are Kayce and Beth Alive?

Reilly dodged the question of whether her character, Beth, will survive the bombing, teasing at Deadline’s Contenders Television event in May 2021 that season 4 is satisfying but not confirming whether she participated in filming.  

Grimes, for his part, has not offered any clues, but both he and Reilly are expected to reprise their roles in at least the first episode of the season to resolve the cliffhanger.

Credit: Danno Nell/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Who Attacked the Duttons?

Not only do fans have theories about who is to blame for the attempted murders of three members of the Dutton family, but the cast has ideas too. “They’ve amassed quite a list of enemies,” Bentley said in a September 2021 YouTube video. “[It] could be anyone involved in Broken Rock. It could be big money players trying to bring the ski resort, could be small-time criminals looking for retribution or it could be someone right in their own living room.” 

Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler, teased, “Obviously my spider tentacles are up for Jamie,” while Sheridan noted, “It was a devastating attack against the family, so we gotta figure out who’s left to look into it, and that’s my goal.”  

Ian Bohen, who portrays Ryan, revealed that there will be retribution exacted on the guilty party. “Naturally we wanna figure out who did this,” he said. “You can only imagine what kind of force might be unleashed against the bad guys.”

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Who’s Joining the Cast?

Several new faces will be introduced in season 4. Piper Perabo will play Summer Higgins, an environmental activist who opposes industrialized farming. Jacki Weaver will recur as Market Equities CEO Caroline Warner, and Kathryn Kelly will portray a veterinarian tech who might end up romancing a ranch hand. Finn Little will be a series regular in season 4 as a teen named Carter who shares similarities with Rip.  

Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

What Is Jamie Plotting?

Jamie is a top suspect for the attacks against his adoptive family, but he has other drama on his plate too since finding out that he is not really a Dutton. "He definitely turns toward his [biological] father," Bentley told Us in November 2021. "He turns away from the Duttons who have hurt him for the last time in his mind, and he's turned toward some other real acceptance and what he hopes is real love. He's not totally out of his mind here. He knows he's a dangerous guy, but he's definitely lost, so he's making poor decisions."

Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

Will There Be a Season 5?

Yellowstone has yet to be renewed for season 5, but Hauser has already indicated that it is a sure thing. “[Sheridan] is working on it right now,” he said during a March 2021 virtual happy hour. “Season 5 is going to be wonderful. The way we ended season 4 — I can’t give too much away, but the way season 4 ends, I think the audience … will be happily surprised.”  

Bentley echoed his costar, telling Us in November 2021 that the season 4 finale will "create conversations and a stir." Kelsey Asbille, who plays Monica Dutton, also teased a "major cliffhanger" at the end of the season.