Yellowstone’s terrible Season 6 idea exposes the show’s biggest weakness 

There are rumors that the flagship Yellowstone series might be rising from the dead with an unexpected Season 6, but if it’s true, then it’s just another misfire for the franchise. 

“He didn’t wake up. He just died on the trail like every cowboy dreams it.” These are the words John Dutton chooses to describe the death of his friend, fellow cattleman Emmett Walsh. Indeed, every cowboy might dream of a peaceful, dignified passing – a luxury the show itself doesn’t seem to be getting.

Instead of dying quietly on the trail, Yellowstone has essentially lost control of its horse (and not even a nice horse – think of that disturbing carousel figurine from the widely-mocked We Live in Time poster), and is hurtling towards a cliff’s edge, throwing itself over the precipice and bouncing off each and every sharp rock with a series of “Ows!”. 

Initially, it was announced that the Taylor Sheridan series would be ending earlier than planned after the shocking exit of its star, Kevin Costner. It wasn’t good, but those cowboys pulled on their boots and got back to work, hoping to wrap up the remaining Season 5 Part 2 with at least some sense of pride.

We accepted it. We moved on. We pulled our Yellowstone t-shirts out of storage (yes, those exist) and prepared for the final episodes to come. But now, a new report has suggested that there will, in fact, be a Yellowstone Season 6 after all. What’s more, it’ll focus on the intensely off-putting pairing of Rip and Beth.

Granted, this is still an unconfirmed claim for now, but if it’s true, then it’s just another reminder that there’s one thing Yellowstone and its sequels and prequels just can’t seem to get right.

Expensive taste runs in the blood

They say too much of anything is bad for you, and that’s exactly what’s going on with Sheridan’s Western TV universe. In the time it’s been on air, Yellowstone has cemented itself as one of the most-watched TV shows in the US. But it’s also resulted in five spinoff shows – 1883, 1923, 1944, The Madison, and 6666.

Paramount

It’s clear: Sheridan is a behemoth. A man with a passion for the genre and (an alleged) $500 million a year from Paramount burning a hole in his pocket. He’s going to want to spend it, and it makes sense to expand his beloved Dutton legacy.

But of all those five shows, only one is complete. The others are either in the middle of production or just starting development. One has to wonder, by the time the next stages of the Yellowstone journey are ready, will the world have moved on?

Put simply, it seems as though Sheridan and Paramount are making more promises than they can keep. Yes, spinoffs are great, but when none of them ever seem to get off the ground, and updates are far and few between, the excitement quickly turns into boredom. 

It was bad enough that Yellowstone was canceled in the first place, and the lingering ghostly potential of more shows than we know what to do with didn’t necessarily make the situation any better.

Now, Yellowstone Season 6 might be happening, making matters all the more complicated – emotionally and practically. We were ready to let go. Ready to say goodbye to the Duttons with a few more episodes that could have answered some questions and tied up some loose ends. 

At this point, I’d like to be done with the mainline Yellowstone series. And I know Sheridan can do that because he’s done it exactly once before.

You’ve outlived your past

There’s one exception to the Sheridan “more is more” rule, and that’s 1883. A one-off ten-episode miniseries, 1883 is the jewel in Yellowstone’s crown. If you’re been around these parts before, you’ll know that I’ll never stop singing 1883’s praises. And rightly so – it’s a masterpiece far exceeding its own Yellowstone roots.

Paramount

A Western movie in TV form, the series was short and highly effective, telling the story of the Dutton Ranch’s origins without pandering to references and homages. We all cried over it (as did plenty of cowboys), and it proved that the expanding Yellowstone universe might just pay off.

But 1883, as excellent as it was, was merely a blip in the system. A ten-episode arc that ended exactly as it was intended to. There’s been no other Yellowstone spinoff that was equally enjoyable or well-rounded.

In producing planned, one-off seasons, the powers that be might still be able to give the Dutton family history depth and adventure, while actually delivering on the goods. 

Pray like hell, and hold on

With the word of Yellowstone’s potential continuation, there’s even less hope that the show will find the spiritual ending it deserves. John Dutton’s no longer around, and all the threads of Sheridan’s plot points still remain entangled. 

Yellowstone’s never been perfect, but after hours and hours’ worth of explosions, gunfights, terrible Beth dialog, and more country music than I can listen to, I’d prefer to see it burn out rather than fade away.

Beth and Rip are an entertaining dynamic, sure. But they’re not even 10% of why so many fans have come to love the Western small-screen saga. If there’s something else Sheridan has to say, then let them have their own one-off miniseries. 

An expansion of Yellowstone’s main series after effectively calling it quits would go beyond beating a dead horse. It would be like slowly euthanizing said horse, quickly reversing that decision and bringing it back to life, and then putting it through another degrading, much more painful death.

Please, let Yellowstone come to an end. If not for its own sake, then for the sake of the many spinoffs waiting in the wings, ready to come to fruition and live strange half-lives of their own.

For more, check out our guides to The Madison, 6666, and 1944. You can also check out what’s on the Yellowstone soundtrack, and learn everything there is to know about the Yellowstone cast.