Yellowstone fans who watched the Western drama series on Paramount Network had to endure a 10-month hiatus between Season 1 and 2. But viewers who are catching up on the drama on CBS will have to wait just one week.
CBS announced on Friday that Yellowstone Season 2 will make its broadcast debut on Sunday, October 29, following tonight’s airing of the Season 1 finale.
The network also boasted that nearly 21.6 million viewers have tuned in to at least one episode of Yellowstone on CBS — and that 52 percent of those viewers had never seen a single episode of the series in the past year on either linear or streaming.
Furthermore, CBS added, Yellowstone has ranked as the No. 1 primetime entertainment program every Sunday night during the broadcast event, with an average of 5.49 million viewers tuning in for each episode.
Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson and produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States, with Kevin Costner playing patriarch John Dutton.
In tonight’s Season 1 finale, “The Unraveling: Pt. 2,” John discovers which family and allies will stand with him and fight as the walls close in, CBS said.
And in next week’s Season 2 premiere, Kayce (Luke Grimes) settles into his new role at the ranch, while a damaging article threatens to expose John, and Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) pitches his new plan to the tribal council.
When the series made its CBS debut in September — helping fill a broadcast schedule impacted by the then-ongoing WGA strike and the still-ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike — longtime fans criticized the network for censoring scenes and dialogue.
“Nobody is excited about watered-down reruns. Negotiate a fair deal and bring back television before you lose all of your viewers,” one person wrote on social media.
Per Country Living, a CBS representative confirmed that the network’s broadcast standards required some minor changes to Yellowstone but insisted that the integrity of the original would be maintained.
Yellowstone, Sundays, 8/7c, CBS