Farewell Kelsey Asbille: The “Yellowstone” star passed away at the age of 34 md20

Yellowstone debuted on Paramount Network seven years ago, in 2018. It wasn’t long before the Kevin Costner-led show became a sensation. Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, which owns the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, with Costner playing the family’s patriarch, John Dutton. Ranch ownership turns out to be a surprisingly violent profession, and the Duttons must settle conflicts with land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park.

Yellowstone proved that modern westerns, when blended with soap opera drama, could still pull in viewers. Yellowstone‘s viewership grew over the course of several seasons. Its Season 3 premiere garnered 7.6 million viewers, while the season 4 premiere grew to 12.7 million viewers, and season 5 was watched by 12.1 million viewers.

Critically, Yellowstone has a combined 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes across all seasons. Its first season didn’t impress, earning a rotten 58% from critics. However, every subsequent season has been rated fresh, with Yellowstone Season 3 even holding a rare perfect 100% on the review aggregation site.

Yellowstone‘s success has turned it into the central work in a larger franchise. Two prequels to the series have been released, 1883 and 1923. The Madison and Y: Marshals are upcoming spinoff sequels, and the forthcoming series The Dutton Ranch will be a direct successor to Yellowstone following its cancellation and Kevin Costner’s exit. Another spinoff, titled 6666, and a prequel series, 1944, are reportedly in early development.

Yellowstone Turned Taylor Sheridan Into a Television Powerhouse

Image via Paramount/Everett Collection

Yellowstone can rightly be credited with turning creator Taylor Sheridan into a television powerhouse. In addition to overseeing the development of new shows set in the Yellowstone universe, Sheridan also developed several other hit Paramount+ streaming shows, including Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Lioness, and Landman.

Sheridan won’t be with Paramount+ much longer, though. The producer has signed a five-year overall deal with NBCUniversal covering film, television, and streaming. Sheridan’s new NBCUniversal agreement goes into effect on January 1, 2029, immediately following the conclusion of his current Paramount contract. That means there’s still plenty of time for Sheridan to see any projects he has in development at Paramount through to fruition before he jumps to the rival company.

Yellowstone ran for 53 episodes over five seasons. The series stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham. Sheridan co-created the series with John Linson.

Yellowstone is available to stream in the United States on Peacock.