The future of Yellowstone was thrown into doubt earlier this year amid reports that Kevin Costner no longer wanted to film the Paramount Network juggernaut.
The final six episodes of Yellowstone Season 5 were set to return to the cabler this summer, but with cameras not getting rolling, the return was later delayed.
Yellowstone was also canceled after five seasons, but fear not:
A Matthew McConaughey-led spinoff is in the works.
Understandably, fans have many questions about how the series will wrap up with just six episodes remaining.
Those episodes have been pushed to November, and Taylor Sheridan isn’t ruling out additional episodes tacked on to the end of Yellowstone Season 5 to give the series the closure he believes is necessary.
“If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” Sheridan explained to The Hollywood Reporter this week.
“It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”
Fans will welcome as much Yellowstone as they can get: The series has continually delivered viewership that isn’t common in today’s TV climate.
Several hurdles are preventing a November return for the series.
The scripts have not been written and won’t be written until the WGA strike is resolved, which could be months or years at this stage.
Costner’s availability is also a big question, with the veteran actor working on his expansive movie franchise.
Sheridan said he was “disappointed” by how Costner’s decision to exit will affect John Dutton’s arc.
“It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
If you watch Yellowstone online, you know we were left with multiple cliffhangers at the close of Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 8.
As a result, fans need answers, and given the uncertainty surrounding Costner’s availability, it’s hard to be excited about the show’s return without knowing how any of this will shake out.
The Yellowstone franchise is huge, with several spinoffs on the air and several more in the works.
Ending the main show will be no easy feat, but we hope all of the characters will get the endings they deserve when that time inevitably arrives.
What are your thoughts on the final season potentially expanding?
Do you think the show could return this year?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.