ddle up, Yellowstone fans—the Dutton family drama isn’t over yet. The series, which centers on the dysfunctional Duttons and their massive Montana cattle ranch, is set to return this Sunday, so there’s plenty more to look forward to. In fact, Paramount+ will also be expanding the Yellowstone universe with two brand new shows—one prequel, one spinoff—in the works.
In September, the show shared a video with the first tantilizing hints at what could be ahead for the Dutton crew.
“The retaliation that those who wronged the Duttons are facing is one of incomparable scale,” says actress Jen Landon, who plays ranch hand Teeter. Hauser had a slightly more succinct (and NSFW) take: “Everybody’s gonna get f***ed up.”
In a follow-up teaser in October, they built anticipation even further with a teaser trailer offering some ominous glimpses, including the sight of Jamie—who some fans suspect had a hand in the potentially lethal season three finale—with a gun trained on someone.
The video has fueled plenty of fan speculation as to who exactly Jamie could be facing off against: his biological father, one of the Dutton family’s enemies, or even one of the Duttons themselves.
Here’s what we know so far about the eagerly awaited fourth season.
When will season 4 premiere?
After months of anticipation, Paramount Network finally announced that Yellowstone season 4 will premiere with a two-hour special event on Sunday, November 7 on Paramount Network.
Even before season 3 came out, Paramount Network announced that it had already ordered a fourth season of the hit western drama. Filming was originally set to begin in June 2020, but was inevitably pushed back due to the global pandemic. Production finally began in late August, with Chief Joseph Ranch, which serves as the set for the Dutton homestead, confirming via Instagram in November 2020 that filming on season 4 had wrapped.
In July, Paramount debuted a teaser trailer (watch below) for the new season along with the announcement that the show would be returning in the fall with the promising tagline “Revenge will be worth the wait.”
Later in the summer, the show’s official Twitter account posted a behind the scenes video of the Yellowstone special effects workshop, explaining how they create some of the shows most literally explosive moments—like the bomb in Beth’s office and the attack on Kayce that gave season three its dramatic cliffhanger ending. Check out the full video below.
The Cast
The season three finale of Yellowstone was filled with potentially deadly cliffhangers, leaving fans wondering which (if any) of their favorite ranchers will survive to carry on next season.
In December 2020, Costner gave fans even more to worry about in an interview with Good Day New York when he responded to questions about his character John Dutton’s fate saying, “I can’t say. There’s an ending that you’re gonna see, hopefully it’s a powerful one for you.” He added, “Just try to enjoy it right up to the end if you can.”
Rumors immediately started to fly that Costner would be exiting the show, with some suggesting that the actor was unhappy with the demands of filming keeping him away from his family. A representative for Costner later told Gossip Cop that the story was untrue.
The remaining Dutton siblings played by Luke Grimes (Kayce), Kelly Reilly (Beth), and Wes Bentley (Jamie), and the other core cast like Cole Hauser (Rip) and Kelsey Asbille (Monica) are all expected to reprise their roles—at least as far as the first episode of the season, in order to resolve that shocking season 3 ending.
v
Speaking at a Deadline event in May, Reilly called the upcoming fourth season “most satisfying” but avoided revealing how big of a role she may play in it. Hauser added an extra layer of ominous anticipation, joking that the first episode of the season might be titled “Wrath of Rip” and saying that “Everybody’s in danger in Montana after that.”
The show has also announced several new cast members. Among them, Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly, Covert Affairs), who is set to portray Summer Higgins, an environmental activist from Portland who opposes the state funded police force and industrialized farming. Not a character you can expect to be popular with the cattle-ranching Duttons—and one that may have been inspired by her real life.
