Please note: This article contains Yellowstone Finale Spoilers (Season 5, Episode 14).
Taylor Sheridan’s modern Western drama series appeared to conclude with its season five finale on December 15. While some fans are still hopeful for a sixth season, they can take comfort in the fact that there are plenty of Yellowstone-adjacent stories to come, with the upcoming spin-off series, The Madison on the horizon.
The highly anticipated finale attracted a massive audience. According to data provided by Paramount, the episode, which aired on Sunday, December 15, garnered 11.4 million same-day viewers. The show, which has traditionally premiered on only Paramount Network, was the most-watched episode in the series’ history.
Yellowstone Finale: What Happened and What’s to Come With The Madison Spin-off Series?
The 86-minute episode concluded with Jamie Dutton’s death and the return of the Dutton land to the Native American community, allowing the ranch’s residents to move on. While it resolved several storylines, it left some mysteries and open-ended plot points, including:
Rip remains unaware of the pain Jamie caused Beth, including the forced hysterectomy that left her infertile after a teenage pregnancy. Beth harbors lifelong resentment and trauma due to Jamie’s actions, but Rip never learns the truth.
The focus on the 6666 ranch in season five, bought in real life by co-creator Taylor Sheridan in 2020, served as a key plot point with several characters sent there. Sheridan also appeared as Travis Wheatley throughout the series, a horse trader who helps to save the Yellowstone ranch. However, the extensive screentime seemed more about promoting Sheridan’s ranching empire than advancing the story.
The wolves storyline, which briefly emerged in the midseason finale with an investigation into whether endangered wolves were killed on John Dutton’s land, was quickly abandoned after the hiatus, despite initial expectations that it would play a major role, especially given John’s relationship with animal rights activist Summer Higgins.
Despite some loose ends in the Yellowstone finale, the upcoming series The Madison in the Yellowstone universe has bolstered its cast with four new members.
According to Variety, Kevin Zegers, Rebecca Spence, Alaina Pollack, and Danielle Vasinova have joined the cast of the new Taylor Sheridan series, The Madison. They will star alongside cast members Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, Matthew Fox, and more.
If you can’t wait for The Madison to premiere to get more of the Yellowstone universe, you’re in luck! Taylor Sheridan’s spinoff series 1923 will premiere it’s second season on February 23, 2025 on Paramount. So get caught up now on season one, and check back for all things Yellowstone!
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