Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise now numbers three different TV shows with a combined viewership of around 30 million people, while a fourth show is currently in production. The critical and commercial success of both 1883 and 1923 demonstrates that the original Yellowstone series itself didn’t have to end after five seasons in December 2024. The show could have continued for at least two more years, even without its main protagonist, John Dutton III, played by Kevin Costner. Indeed, Yellowstone’s producers initially planned for the series to run for much longer than the 53 episodes it ended up having.

According to a recent report published in Bloomberg, Taylor Sheridan apparently wanted Yellowstone to run for eight seasons or more. Instead, he and fellow creator and executive producer John Linson wrapped the show’s story up after five seasons, including an extended fifth season in two parts. This is because Costner’s exit from Yellowstone due to disagreements over scheduling, pay, and the creative direction of the series precipitated its premature ending. Sheridan decided to expand the Yellowstone universe via spinoffs involving different sets of characters, rather than continue the original show for further seasons without Costner.

Yellowstone’s Spinoffs Show It Could Have Stuck To Its Original Plan Without Kevin Costner
The Yellowstone Universe Has Plenty More To Give, And So Did The Show’s Characters

As Yellowstone season 5 part 2 illustrates, there were still plenty of stories left to be told on the Dutton ranch even after John Dutton’s death. Costner’s character was initially the heartbeat of the show, but he didn’t need to be the central protagonist throughout its entire run. In fact, it’s John’s ancestor Elsa Dutton, the narrator of Sheridan’s spinoff series 1883 and 1923, who has the final word in Yellowstone’s ending, while John’s son Kayce had already taken over the running of the Dutton ranch before his death.

The show lasted as long as it did, maintaining an audience of around 10 million viewers throughout its five seasons, precisely because it didn’t over-rely on the sole presence of John Dutton, and developed the character arcs of its supporting cast. By the end, there were several narrative threads running concurrently in Yellowstone, from Kayce and Monica Dutton’s ownership of the ranch as well as their internal relationship dynamic, to the growing antagonism between John’s daughter Beth and his adoptive son Jamie.

Yellowstone’s prequel series 1883 and 1923, their upcoming follow-up show The Madison, and Beth and Kayce’s confirmed spinoffs underline that John Dutton is just one character in a much bigger Taylor Sheridan universe. While John Dutton is one of Sheridan’s best-ever creations, Yellowstone didn’t need him to continue pulling audiences in with compelling storylines built around other members of the Dutton family.

How 3 More Seasons Of Yellowstone Could Have Worked After John Dutton’s Departure
The Narrative Threads Of Other Dutton Family Members Could Have Been Expanded

If Yellowstone had continued without John Dutton for three more years, the show couldn’t have killed Jamie off as it does during the final episode. Yellowstone would have had to draw out the struggle between Beth and Jamie, while it could have developed Jamie’s character arc to the extent that he became a mirror image of his dead adoptive father in the state politics of Montana. Meanwhile, there could have been entirely new storylines developed around the new generation of ranchers that Kayce and his wife Monica, who is of Native American heritage, represent.

Suffice it to say that Yellowstone could have sustained itself as a standalone show for at least seven or eight seasons despite the departure of Kevin Costner, especially because of the upcoming series starring John Dutton’s kids. Rather than have Beth and Rip’s spinoff, Dutton Ranch, and Kayce’s untitled spinoff, the Dutton siblings could have continued to be the stars of Yellowstone in the format Sheridan intended. But at the end of the day, whether it’s through more seasons of Yellowstone or new sequel series, I’m happy I get to spend more time with the Duttons.