Why ‘Yellowstone’ Was Almost Canceled After Season 2

Yellowstone may have ended after Season 5, but it nearly ended a lot sooner than that.

The popular Western drama was almost canceled after the second season.

Yellowstone was an instant hit when it launched in 2018, and by Season 2, it was averaging 6.3 million viewers per episode, according to Bloomberg. Unfortunately, despite being a top cable show, Paramount lost $50 million. At the time of Yellowstone’s early days, Viacom was in the process of merging with CBS, and since the company owned Showtime, there didn’t seem to be a need to have two homes with expensive dramas. Producing studio 101 Studios provided crucial financing to Yellowstone, which is why it was able to go two seasons.

After Paramount Co-Chief Executive Officer Chris McCarthy, who saw potential in Yellowstone, spent time with creator and producer Taylor Sheridan to understand him better, and suggested moving the show from Wednesdays in the summer to Sundays in the fall. Although Sheridan and his agents initially hated the idea, it proved to be a massive hit thanks to football and all the marketing that came with it. Viewership grew by more than a million for Season 3 and then over 12 million for Season 4.

What would have happened had Yellowstone kept with its old schedule is unknown, but it’s quite possible that it really would have been canceled after Season 2 if Viacom didn’t see any need to keep it going. Luckily, fans don’t have to wonder because not only did Yellowstone make it five seasons, but it has also started a whole franchise with prequels, sequels, and spinoffs to continue the phenomenon and follow generations of the Dutton family.

There are several Yellowstone spinoffs in the works, including Y: Marshals, Dutton Ranch, The Madison, 1943, and 6666, and probably many others. 1883 and 1923 were the first spinoffs of Yellowstone and helped jumpstart the franchise. It was also rumored that a sixth season of Yellowstone was possible, but it seems like the flagship series is done. At the very least, it is living on in multiple spinoffs and was on far longer than planned. As of now, premiere dates for the next spinoffs, Y: Marshals on CBS and Dutton Ranch on Paramount Network, have not been announced, but the wait for both will be worth it.