The Yellowstone franchise couldn’t continue with a proper season 6 after Kevin Costner’s exit, but between Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip’s (Cole Hauser) Yellowstone spinoff and Kayce Dutton’s (Luke Grimes) newly announced CBS series, the story will continue. Costner was the soul of the landmark show as John Dutton III, the owner of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Kevin Costner didn’t return to the series for Yellowstone season 5, part 2 after he and its creators failed to reach an agreement, and the closing chapter was riddled with controversy surrounding the decision.

Still, there were some things that Yellowstone season 5, part 2 got right. John’s children both had full-circle endings, with Kayce selling the ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe and moving back to East Camp with Tate (Brecken Merrill) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille). Beth and Rip also had a noteworthy conclusion, moving onto a ranch west of Dillon, Montana. While Kayce and Beth’s closing scenes in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14, would have been great epilogues, it’s actually the start of something new. Still, the spinoffs will just look like Yellowstone season 6 collectively.

Put Beth & Rip’s Show With Kayce’s Show On CBS & You Basically Have Yellowstone Season 6
Yellowstone Season 6 Would Have Been Beth And Kayce’s Stories After John Dutton’s Death

Yellowstone season 6 could not have achieved Kevin Costner’s seven-season Yellowstone plan without him, meaning season 6 would have likely been about Kayce and Beth’s separate lives. Now, their independent shows can replace that. Ahead of the Yellowstone season 5 finale, a casting deal broke the news that Reilly and Hauser would reprise Beth and Rip in a Yellowstone offshoot, presumably in place of season 6. Season 5 gave us a great idea of what it would be about, with Beth beginning to spin the wheels of her finance degree to figure out how to make ranching profitable.

Beth can apply what she’s learned to her husband’s operation, but a spinoff for the couple would not have replaced Yellowstone season 6 by itself. However, the news about Kayce’s Yellowstone spinoff on CBS confirms screenwriter Taylor Sheridan will cover the complete spectrum of what comes next for John’s kids. That would have been the basis for Yellowstone season 6, so if viewers tune into Beth and Kayce’s shows, respectively, then they will get the complete picture of life in Montana after John Dutton III’s death and the selling of the ranch to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham).

Splitting Kayce From Beth & Rip Will Allow All 3 Characters More Spotlight
Beth, Rip, And Kayce All Warrant Their Own Stories

After Costner’s exit, the Yellowstone story would not have been able to continue with Beth and Kayce holding it down on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, unable to pay the massive inheritance tax that caused them to sell it. Therefore, their stories would have been inherently separate in Yellowstone season 6. Granted, Kayce Dutton could have joined Beth and Rip’s offshoot. However, I believed Kayce was gearing up for something more significant than that in Yellowstone season 5, and something even bigger than running the ranch to pass down to Tate.

The CBS show will give Kayce his spotlight, and it will allow Beth and Rip to occupy ample space in their story.

Especially after the way he stepped up in the final chapter, a Kayce-centric continuation is warranted. Kayce was outstanding in Yellowstone season 5, episode 11, “Three Fifty-Three,” using his position as Livestock Commissioner to command the medical examiner’s office and get the investigation into his father’s death reopened as a homicide. The CBS show will give Kayce his spotlight, and it will allow Beth and Rip to occupy ample space in their story, rather than trying to keep up with Beth’s brother. Still, the siblings are close enough that they could cross over from time to time.

Why Different Yellowstone Spinoffs Make More Sense Than Doing Season 6 Without Kevin Costner
John Dutton Was Yellowstone’s Heartbeat

Especially after the divisive reception to Yellowstone season 5, part 2, it was time to close out the original Yellowstone series and maintain its best remaining pieces in offshoots. While Costner couldn’t return to Yellowstone as John Dutton, Reilly, Grimes, and Hauser were all ready and willing to keep their Yellowstone characters alive. Rather than try to build the show back up without its soul, John Dutton, it makes sense to pick up the pieces and start anew. Although it was enthralling to see all their stories play out simultaneously, the characters are robust enough to hold their own shows.

I’m interested to see what the reception is to Kayce Dutton’s CBS Yellowstone show, especially since it will be the first Yellowstone spinoff developed for broadcast TV. I’ve noticed that Yellowstone fans can be divided on which of John’s kids they root for, and I wonder if that will translate to who tunes into which spinoff. Those who watch both Beth and Rip’s Yellowstone spinoff and Kayce’s offshoot will get a complete sense of how John Dutton’s children are coping with his death and their evolving stories, painting the full picture of the presupposed Yellowstone season 6.