Yellowstone has become one of the most popular and buzzed about television series in recent years thanks to its mixture of A-list stars, soap opera–style plot developments and gorgeous views of the American West.
But creator — and writer, and director and showrunner — Taylor Sheridan hasn’t been satisfied with just one blockbuster television show.
From the seeds of the Kevin Costner–starring sensation, he has crafted a bevy of spin-offs with similarly impressive casts that fill out the saga of the Dutton family and its attempt to conquer the American frontier.
The Yellowstone Universe has gone back in time to the late 19th century with its first spin-off, 1883, which charts the doomed westward trip of the Duttons, and skipped ahead decades with the next series 1923, which stars Harrison Ford — who recently ran into Kevin Costner at the Golden Globes — and Helen Mirren as a later generation of Duttons.
Now, with Kevin Costner‘s departure from the flagship series and the fate of Yellowstone and its expanding series of spin-offs up in the air, DailyMail.com takes stock of Sheridan’s growing Western empire.
Taylor Sheridan has created a TV empire with his Yellowstone franchise after creating the flagship series starring Kevin Costner
The show has generated multiple spin-offs and nabbed other A-list stars including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren; still from 1923
Now, with Costner’s departure from Yellowstone and the fate of the series and its expanding Universe of spin-offs up in the air, DailyMail.com takes stock of creator Taylor Sheridan’s growing Western empire; pictured in November 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas
Yellowstone — The original
Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton III, the patriarch of the Dutton family, which owns the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch
After negotiations to allow him to shoot his Western epic films Horizon broke down, Costner left the show between halves of the two-part season five, leaving the show in jeopardy
The show that started it all.
Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton III, the patriarch of the Dutton family, which owns the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
The privately held ranch borders the majesty of Yellowstone National Park, as well as the Broken Rock Indian Reservation and a group of developers looking to seize the Dutton family’s valuable land.
While Costner is undoubtedly the star, the show also focuses extensively on the Shakespearean drama of his squabbling children, as well as the workers who actually make the Yellowstone Ranch run smoothly.
The show has become a favorite of conservative viewers for its seeming ‘anti-woke’ storylines, but Dutton and his family are also routinely painted as amoral and are responsible for several murders throughout the seasons.
After Costner fell into conflict with Sheridan and the show’s studio Paramount over his desire to have a reduce schedule to shoot his two-part Western epic film Horizon, the actor left the series following the conclusion of the first half of season five.
As negotiations broke down to get him to return to finish his episodes for the second half — intended to be released later — the studio moved forward with plans to end his character’s arc for good and continue the series under a new name and with a new lead actor, though Costner has said a clause in his contract prevents his character from being killed off in any embarrassing way.
2024 — The Yellowstone sequel
Paramount has moved to solve its Yellowstone problem with a sequel series that will continue the main storyline while introducing new characters, tentatively titled 2024
The new 2024 is expected to star Matthew McConnaughey as a character stepping into Costner’s position, but he has not yet signed on to the show; seen in September 2023 in NYC
The Yellowstone continuation is so far only known by its working title, which follows the nomenclature of the other spin-offs.
Rather than airing on the Paramount Network or its parent CBS, 2024 will be available on the Paramount+ streaming app in hopes of drawing in new subscribers.
Shortly after the drama with Costner began, it was reported that Matthew McConaughey was in talks with the production to take over a new continuation series to move past the Costner era.
It’s unclear who he might be playing and how he would be connected to the previous series, but he’s expected to fill in the same patriarchal position that Costner’s character had.
However, McConaughey hasn’t officially signed on for the series yet despite its series order, so it’s still possible that he could walk away.
Although some of the characters are said to returning to the tentatively titled 2024, the show will likely introduce new faces and may explore new locales.
1883 — The first spin-off
Tim McGraw played James Dutton, while his real-life wife Faith Hill played his on-screen wife Margaret in the first Yellowstone prequel 1883, which charts the family’s journey from Tennessee to Montana
The 10-episode series ended with multiple tragedies and deaths, and Sheridan revealed that it would receive no additional seasons
The first show to add to the Yellowstone Universe was the single-season wonder 1883.
The show takes place in the late 19th century as James Dillard Dutton (country singer and actor Tim McGraw), a former captain in the slavery-defending Confederacy during the American Civil War, travels westward from Tennessee with his family in search of a new homestead.
He’s joined on the arduous trip by his wife Margaret (McGraw’s real-life wife, singer Faith Hill) and their children.
She travels by train to Fort Worth, Texas, with her family to join James for the journey, which is led by the Pinkerton agent — and former Union captain — Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott).
The 10-episode series ends with mounting tragedies and deaths, and Sheridan has said that the series is completed and won’t receive additional seasons.
1923 — A new Dutton branch perseveres
Superstar Harrison Ford made a rare TV turn with costar Helen Mirren for the 1883 sequel 1923. He plays James’ brother Jacob, who has become the new Dutton patriarch in Montana
The first spin-off, 1883, may have ended in tragedy, but that didn’t stop other members of the Dutton family from continuing Jacob and Margaret’s vision of creating a Western paradise in Montana.
The second Yellowstone spin-off, 1923, stars superstars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton.
Jacob is the older brother of McGraw’s character from 1883, and though he and Cara have no children of their own, they have taken over the family and raised James and Margaret’s son’s John Sr. and Spencer Dutton.
Early in the 20th century, Jacob and Cara are forced to deal with natural disasters affecting their coveted land, as well as the impact of Prohibition and the crime that sprung up due to it.
The first season of the show, which premiered in 2022, also hinted at the upcoming Great Depression, which was kicked off by the stock market crash of 1929, though rural Montana in the early 1920s doesn’t have as many buffers to delay the oncoming economic pain.
The show, which has been renewed for an eight-episode second season, establishes the fights between the Dutton family and developers with deeper coffers who are intent on seizing their land.
So far, it’s unclear when 1923 will begin shooting the next season or when it is expected to premiere.
1944 — The next prequel spin-off
Few details have been released about Sheridan’s next Yellowstone prequel, 1944, though it’s possible that it could feature characters from 1923 due to the more modest time jump; still from 1923
Few details have been released about Sheridan’s next Yellowstone prequel, 1944.
The series will begin at the height of America’s entry into the fighting in Europe in World War II, but it’s unclear how central the war will be to 1944’s characters.
It’s also unknown if any of the characters or actors from 1923 will carry over to the upcoming series, but the more modest time jump of just over two decades certainly makes it possible.
So far, no potential cast members or characters have been announced.
However, the second season of 1923 may help elucidate the direction of future shows.
6666 — Sheridan’s delayed spin-off
Sheridan’s upcoming series — a contemporary spin-off starring Yellowstone’s Jefferson White — is on hold after he bought the eponymous Four Sixes ranch; still from Yellowstone
Sheridan’s other upcoming spin-off, 6666, has also had few details revealed.
The series is set on the real-life Four Sixes ranch — also known as 6666 — which Sheridan purchased in 2021 with a group of investors.
Yellowstone has already filmed some scenes at the ranch, and the upcoming show will film on it as well.
However, Sheridan’s acquisition of the ranch appears to have halted its progress, rather than removing an obstacle, as he now needs to look after the welfare of the people who manage the ranch.
‘That, for a number of reasons, needs a unique level of special care because this is a real place with real families working here,’ he explained to The Hollywood Reporter after buying the property. ‘You have to respect the lineage. I’ve told [the studio] to be patient.’
The show will presumably be set around the same time as the flagship series and will star Yellowstone’s Jefferson White, who plays Jimmy Hurdstram.