‘Yellowstone’ Has Only Won These Two Major Awards Despite Massive Popularity

Yellowstone may be one of the biggest series currently on TV, but its success hasn’t reflected on the awards show beat. Despite racking up a staggering 19 nominations across various awards shows, the Kevin Costner-led Paramount Network series has only managed to bring home two awards, something that has becoming a sticking point for fans.

Debuting in June 2018 to massive success, Yellowstone scored its first nominations the following year at the 2019 American Society of Cinematographers Awards, where it was nominated Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Commercial Television, and the 2019 Hollywood Post Alliance Awards, with a nomination in the Outstanding Sound – Television category. However, the show’s first win did not come until 2022, when it scored an award forOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour at the 2022 Cinema Audio Society Awards. The series won for its Season 4 premiere episode, “Half the Money.” It was nominated in the category alongside Squid Game Season 1, Episode 7, “VIPS;” Succession Season 3, Episode 1, “Secession;” The Morning Show Season 2, Episode 1, “My Least Favorite Year;” and The White Lotus Season 1, Episode 5, “The Lotus Eaters.”

Yellowstone scored several more nominations in the months that followed, including numerous nominations for the 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards – Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama for Kevin Costner, Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama for Kelly Reilly, Best Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama, and Best Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama – the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, 2022 Producers Guild of America Awards, and 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards, among others. It did not pick up another win until the 2023 Golden Globe Awards rolled around in January 2023. The series picked up its second win when Costner won in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama category.

Starring Costner as John Dutton, a sixth-generation patriarch of the Dutton family who owns the largest ranch in the United States, Yellowstone has consistently proven to be a major player in the TV landscape. Running for 10 episodes from November 2021 through January 2022, Yellowstone Season 4 averaged 11 million total viewers. The Season 4 finale alone saw 9.3 million total viewers in Live+Same Day, which was not only up 81% when compared to the Season 3 finale, but also surpassed the previous Live+Same Day viewership of 8 million set by the Yellowstone Season 4 premiere. It was the most-watched telecast on cable since The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere. When Season 5 premiered in November, it shattered ratings records in all demographics and drew in 12.1 million live-plus-same-day viewers, marking the biggest premiere for the show.

Yellowstone is currently airing its fifth season on Paramount Network. The hit series recently aired its midseason finale, with new episodes not expected to air until Summer 2023, the network announced in a new trailer for the latter half of the season.