‘Yellowstone’ Season 5: Everything to Know About the Cast, Release Date and More

Credit: Danno Nell/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock

'Yellowstone' Season 5: Everything to Know About the Cast, Release Date and More

Back to the ranch. The Yellowstone universe keeps expanding, and the franchise's flagship series is no exception — Paramount renewed the show for a fifth season in February 2022. Starring Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley, the drama series premiered on the Paramount Network in June 2018. The modern western has since become a phenomenon, inspiring multiple spinoffs and racking up nominations at various awards shows. In 2021, Yellowstone was one of the most-watched cable shows of the year, with more than 11 million viewers tuning in for the season four finale. Costner has been famous since the 1980s, but Yellowstone has helped him reach a whole new audience. "If I'm out, within an hour, somebody is going to talk about it," the Oscar winner told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published in March 2022. "You kind of hope that happens a little bit and it has. I think it's what happens when you have great dialogue and you put it against mountains and rivers and running horses. I think there's a little gold dust on it." The show follows the exploits of the Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Costner plays family patriarch John Dutton, while Reilly stars as his daughter, Bethany, and Bentley appears as his son Jamie. The ensemble cast also includes Luke Grimes, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille. When season 4 ended, the ranch had weathered a militia attack led by Jamie's biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton). Beth married Rip Wheeler (Hauser) after tipping a journalist off to the fact that Market Equities planned to squash a protest with help from the National Guard. Jamie, meanwhile, killed Garrett, which Beth plans to use as blackmail in the future. The cast have said they don't know what's going to happen until they get the scripts, but Reilly thinks her character is planning revenge in season 5. “Beth has decided she cannot rest until she gets justice,” the actress said in a promotional video for the show. “She wants blood. It’s really kind of intense.” While fans wait for the next installment, there's plenty of other Yellowstone content to go around. A prequel series titled 1883 premiered in December 2021, starring Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott. Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan confirmed in February 2022 that 1883 was conceived as a one-season limited series, but a sequel titled 1923 is also in development. Another spinoff titled 6666 was announced in 2021. That series will debut on Paramount+ and will be set at the real-life Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas. In May 2021, a group led by Sheridan purchased the property for $200 million. Portions of season 4 were filmed at the ranch, which was established in 1900. In May 2023, Paramount announced that Yellowstone would end with the second half of season 5 in November and that an untitled sequel series would premiere the following month. “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, in a statement at the time. Keep scrolling for everything to know so far about Yellowstone season 5: With reporting by Leanne Aciz Stanton

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When Does 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Premiere?

In May 2022, it was announced that the first half of Yellowstone season 5 will premiere on November 13 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network. Paramount later revealed in May 2023 that season 5 part two will debut in November 2023.

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Who's Coming Back?

No official announcements have been made, but it seems likely that Costner, Reilly, Grimes, Bentley, Birmingham, Hauser and Asbille will all be back.

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Who's New to the Cast?

No new cast members had been announced as of March 2022, but two recurring actors were promoted to series regulars: Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy Hurdstrom, and Kathryn Kelly, who stars as Jimmy's fiancée, Emily. Jen Landon, who appears as Teeter, also got a promotion to series regular.

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What's Going to Happen?

"I got a new horse. How's that?" Costner joked to ET in an interview published in March 2022. Other than that, the cast doesn't know much. Kayce (Grimes) will likely have to make a decision about where he fits in with his family amid his marriage to Monica (Asbille). The dynamic between Jamie and Beth also seems poised to continue causing problems, especially now that the former is a murderer and the latter knows it.

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A New Baby, Maybe

Grimes and Asbille teased their characters' fates during an interview at the ACM Awards in March 2022. "I’m ready to have a sweet little baby on set," Asbille told ET, referring to her character Monica's second pregnancy, which was revealed in season 4. Grimes, however, isn't so sure the outcome will be positive. "We might die tomorrow," he joked. "It's kind of the Yellowstone [trademark]."

Asbille added that she's not sure Monica and Kayce's marriage will last. "I hope that they’ll be happy in the end, but it’s not likely, to be honest," she explained. Both actors noted that they "never know" what's going to happen until they get the scripts. "We're sorta on the ride with everybody else," Grimes said.

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Jimmy Is Not Leaving

White shut down rumors that his character was exiting after Jimmy relocated to the 6666 Ranch in Texas during season 4. “I’m in season 5. Jimmy’s in season 5,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2022. “That’s great. I’m really looking forward to that.”  

He continued: “I didn’t know necessarily what Jimmy's future was. I still don't know exactly what Jimmy’s future holds. I've really given up on trying to guess. What Taylor Sheridan, the show's creator — I think one of the best writers in television now or ever, definitely — comes up with is always so much better than what I could come up with. So I'm really excited that Jimmy's journey continues, and I have no idea where it leads and I'm just kind of ready to try to hold on.” 

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Coming Soon

In April 2022, a Variety profile of Sheridan confirmed that production on season 5 is set to begin in May, with a premiere date expected for late summer.

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Filming Is Underway

Paramount Network announced in May 2022 that production is officially underway in Montana. The upcoming season will consist of 14 episodes — the series’ longest season to date — that will be broken into two seven-episode clumps.

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Is the Cast Growing?

Paramount announced on June 10 that Wendy Moniz and Mo Brings Plenty, who have portrayed recurring characters since the show began, will be promoted to series regulars for season 5. Jennifer Landon and Kathryn Kelly, who play Teeter and Emily respectively, have also been promoted to series regulars. 

In addition, Josh Lucas, Kylie Rogers and Kyle Red Silverstein will be reprising their roles as the younger versions of John, Beth and Rip. Kai Caster, who has been cast to play a young cowboy named Rowdy, Lainey Wilson who will portray a musician named Abby, Dawn Oliveri who will be corporate shark Sarah Atwood and Lilli Kay who will be a new assistant to one of the Duttons have also been added to the roster. 

Credit: Paramount+

More Drama Is Coming

A teaser released in August 2022 promised fans that "all will be revealed" in the new episodes. "We'll show the world who we are," Costner says in voiceover as John Dutton. The clip also announced that the November 13 season premiere will be two hours long.

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John Dutton in the Statehouse

Released in September 2022, the full trailer for season 5 shows John getting sworn in as governor of Montana. He immediately begins cleaning house, firing most of his staffers and installing Beth as chief of staff. "I love Montana, but I'm doing this for our family," he says at one point. When Jamie expresses concern that these moves will start a war, John replies, "We're already at war."

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Angela Returns

Q’orianka Kilcher will return as attorney Angela Blue Thunder in Yellowstone season 5, Deadline reported in September. The character was last seen in the season 3 finale. 

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Where Jamie Stands With the Duttons

After a tumultuous season 4 for Jamie, Bentley exclusively told Us that he hopes his character will "fight back" in the episodes to come. "We have this political intrigue, this political danger, which I think is a different thing than we've done," the American Horror Story alum said in November 2022 ahead of the season 5 premiere. "I think it's more dangerous because the inflection point's coming for John, and this is his last game. Something he never wanted to do was be a politician. It's his desperate Hail Mary pass. ... The tension is rising.

The American Beauty actor added that he doesn't think there's any hope of a reconciliation between Jamie and Beth now that she has proof that he murdered Garrett. "I think Jamie's always — maybe more than her — felt like there was some reconciliation and love there that he could come back to," Bentley told Us. "He missed what they were as kids and thought the time would heal. But her having him kill his father is the breaking point, and whatever love he had for her is gone. Whatever hope he had for her is gone. And more than that, I think he's angry and he wants her to pay."

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Full Cowboy

At the show's season 5 premiere event, Hauser exclusively told Us that the new season has some "amazing stuff" when it comes to "cowboy" things. "The actors and I got to do a lot of stuff that we've never been able to do before," the Transcendence actor explained in November 2022. "I think we've earned the trust of Taylor and he's allowed us to go and really cowboy for the first time. So, that's been really cool."

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Dutton v. Rainwater

John Dutton and Thomas Rainwater have had their ups and downs over the years, but John being governor will add a whole new dimension to their relationship. "We've had alliances in seasons. And we've understood and had great respect for each other, and we understood that separately we're too small to fight the large evil — the massive corporations," Birmingham, who plays Thomas, exclusively told Us in November 2022. "So, when John actually becomes governor, then he's got a new leverage of power, and you can address legislation and things that benefit him and maybe just solely for him. So, Rainwater is really gonna be having a struggle, and [will have to] get creative."

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Going Big

White, who plays Jimmy, exclusively told Us that Yellowstone is "bigger than ever" in season 5. "It's incredible," he said in November 2022. "This season it really explodes beyond the boundaries of what I thought was possible. So, the conflict is now more complicated than ever. There's more enemies than ever. They're coming from every direction. The wolves are really circling, and John Dutton's soldiers — his resources — are spread thinner than ever. ... You get to see a different side of a lot of these amazing actors because it's a new kind of conflict. Rip is fighting fights that he can't win with his fists. John Dutton is having to deal with new, difficult problems that he can't solve by sending somebody to the train station. And I just think that's an amazing thing. This shows us a different side of these characters that we've loved for years."

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When Does 'Yellowstone' Return?

The hit series was set to return with new episodes in summer 2023. News broke in February, however, that there were delays before the cast resumed filming. Costner’s lawyer subsequently denied accusations that his client refused to work more than one week on the second half of season 5.

“The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,” Marty Singer told Puck.News in response to an exposé titled “Casualties of the Costner-Yellowstone Crossfire,” published on February 21. “It’s ridiculous — and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”

According to the report, production on season 5 is expected to resume over the summer and fall, with episodes airing in November 2023.

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Has Filming Started for Part 2?

“We haven't started, no. We know [Taylor] is writing and we're looking forward to getting back,” Wendy Moniz, who plays Lynelle Perry, exclusively told Us Weekly at PaleyFest in April 2023. “I'm along for this ride for as long as [the show] goes. That's what I can tell you. It's just been a dream job.”

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Will ‘Yellowstone’ End With Season 5?

It was announced in May 2023 that Yellowstone would end with the second half of season 5. A new, untitled sequel series will premiere one month after the show’s conclusion.

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Why Is 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Delayed?

In May 2023, an insider exclusively told Us that the Yellowstone set was "troubled" for a while before Paramount Network announced the show's end. “The drama is between some of the writers and producers,” the source explained. “They all have busy schedules and other projects, and that has caused delays. It’s been upsetting for Kevin because he has a family and a schedule to stick to.”

Despite rumors, the insider noted that Costner isn't the reason for the "holdup," which was "one of the reasons" for his split from wife Christine Baumgartner. “He is also very disappointed by the delays, which are beyond his control," the source told Us. "He had to schedule a certain amount of time to do the project, so when delays happened it went against what was promised when it came to his schedule."