In 2018 the Paramount Network released the surprise megahit Yellowstone. The show has since run for three highly-rated seasons, but what is in store for Season 4 now slated to premiere on Sunday, November 7th? The Kevin Costner-led show details the lives and struggles of the Dutton family as they fight to keep control of their ranch. They are constantly trying to fend off land developers and others who want their land for themselves. As the Duttons navigate the local landscape others are willing to go to any means necessary to get what they want.
The show was a hit right off the bat. The series premiere drew nearly 5 million viewers which made it the second most-watched drama on ad-supported cable in 2018. Only The Walking Dead did better, and that has been a train that is hard to derail. The Season 3 finale drew in 5.2 million viewers showing that the audience keeps growing.
Beware Spoilers For Season 3!
At the end of Season 3, the Dutton family was left in tatters after numerous attempts on their lives. Now, audiences are probably wondering who is going to survive until Season 4. Arguably, the tiny teasers they’ve released don’t give many clues. While helping a woman on the side of the road during the finale, John got caught in a hail of gunfire. Even though he despises having a cellphone, it looks like it might be the only thing that saves his life.
Meanwhile, Kayce (Luke Grimes), finds himself nose to nose with a hit team. He‘s able to gain cover behind his desk but his fate Is still unknown (he probably survived and killed his attackers). Everyone’s favorite bunk house boy, Jimmy (Jefferson White), seems to get off the easiest in the finale. While his rodeo career seems to be over, he just can’t help himself and gets back in the ring. During a particularly spirited ride, he gets bucked off and lands real hard. It looks like he’s only out cold but is the injury worse? John warned him!
Beth (Kelly Reilly), on the other hand, could be in the direst situation. As she is in her office, a box arrives. While she doesn’t know what it is, her assistant opens it. Without warning, the whole office gets caught in a giant explosion.
But who was behind the attack on the Duttons? A lot of fans think it’s Wes Bentley’s Jamie, who was revealed to have been adopted towards the end of season 3. While he previously killed a nosey journalist, this seems too cold-blooded for him. I think underneath it all, he’d never have the courage to take on his dad. Most importantly – he left Cole Hauser’s Rip alive. The Dutton ranch foreman, Rip is probably the second most justifiably violent character on the show (after Kayce). That being said, whatever orchestrated attack happened left him unharmed.
The most likely culprits are the folks at Market Equities and their slick money man, Josh Holloway’s Roarke, who’s apparently a regular in season four. It definitely wasn’t Gil Birmingham’s tribal chief, Thomas Rainwater. He seemed to be forging an uneasy alliance with the Dutton clan. If he was going to come at them, it would be head-on with his own people, not mercenaries.
Will the Dutton clan survive? Only Season 4 can tell us. So what do we know about Season 4? Turns out it’s not much. After all, everyone has been pretty tight-lipped after the cliffhanger of Season 3.
Numerous cast members posted about the end of filming back in November 2020 leaving most fans thinking that the new season would premiere in June of 2021. The previous three seasons hit in June, so why wouldn’t this new season? Two things seem to have kept that from happening. To begin, filming for additional scenes was postponed until June due to scheduling. This alone wouldn’t have been an issue, but they didn’t seem to be in a big hurry to get them filmed as they knew the premiere was likely to be delayed.
More than likely, the big factor in pushing the premiere was the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics. The big sporting event would have hit in the middle of Yellowstone‘s season. Rather than make viewers decide what to watch they decided to push off to a later date when the Olympics wouldn’t be dominating the airwaves. Now we know season four debuts in November.
The big theme in season 4 is going to be revenge. Revenge on those who targeted the Duttons. Revenge from Market Equities against the Duttons for threatening their very business with Beth’s meddling. Revenge for an entire culture from Rainwater and Angela Blue Thunder. Just about every character has reason to want revenge on someone. It should prove interesting to see how these threads play out.
A few new characters will be showing up this season as well, but the one that will be getting a lot of the focus is the CEO of Market Equities Caroline Warner, played by Jacki Weaver. When things start to get so bad that the CEO has to show up to start taking the business into their own hands, you can guarantee that things are about to get turned up. If Willa and Roarke are behind any of the attempts on the lives of the Duttons, how much trouble will they be in for failing? It’s going to get interesting.
Also joining the cast will be Piper Perabo as a protester against the state-funded police force that protects industrialized farming and the killing of animals. Kathryn Kelly will show up as a vet tech that strikes up a romance with one of the Dutton Ranch’s farmhands. Lastly, Finn Little will join the Dutton family as a young boy that reminds them of a young Rip. They give him a home to hopefully give him a better life.
One of the things most viewers had wondered about is if Season 4 would be the last season of the show. Show star Cole Hauser seemed to put those rumors to rest back in March. During an interview, he stated
“Season five is going to be wonderful. The way we ended season four—I can’t give too much away, but the way season four ends, I think the audience… will be happily surprised.”
Considering the show’s huge ratings and recent news that a Yellowstone spin-off will be coming starring Sam Elliot, it would only make sense to keep the original show around. Fans don’t seem to be tiring of the series yet, and Paramount will want to keep it around as long as the ratings hold steady.
Some have worried that the show’s star, Kevin Costner, might not be returning, as he has mentioned that adapting to a scripted series has been a challenge for him. While that might have been the case, everything seems to point to Costner sticking around. The show has done a lot to revitalize his career and he sees the success the show has achieved. Rumors are that he makes about $500,000 per episode. That would be a hard payday to turn down for what is critically and commercially seen as a major success.
What is for sure is that Season 4 will be a wild ride. After that ending to Season 3 viewers will be excited to find out what happened to their favorite characters. Who survives and who doesn’t? More importantly who will end up paying for the attack on the Dutton family? After the reveal of who set up the attacks the wild west will end up in an all-out war.