When 2023 kicked off with the winter finale for Yellowstone Season 5, fans were led to believe that the remainder of the season would air over the summer, which already seemed like not-great news at the time. Little did we know that was a best-case scenario, as rumors of behind-the-scenes conflicts over scheduling surrounded the delayed production start for the latter six episodes, with star Kevin Costner reportedly aiming to focus more on his upcoming western feature four-parter, Horizon. Paramount Network has since fully confirmed that the hit western drama is ending with those very episodes, which are set to air later this year. Amidst all the negative reveals, a silver lining of good news has appeared, as we now finally know when the first half of Season 5 will be available to stream.
As it’s gone in the past, fans will be able to stream Yellowstone episodes with a Peacock subscription, with the first eight episodes of Season 5 joining the Seasons 1-4 quite soon, though possibly not soon enough for some. The latest eps will be available on Thursday, May 25.
If the timing of things seems a bit specific, it almost definitely is, since that Thursday immediately precedes Memorial Day weekend, with the holiday landing the following Monday, May 29. Weekend marathons are a go-to programming move for a lot of linear networks already, and streaming services are also now known to time some big TV and movie releases to holidays that give viewers days off from work and school. I can’t imagine a lot of grade-school kids will be jazzed about seeing how the Dutton family’s trials and tribulations continued after Season 4’s big finale, but older generations will absolutely be hitting up Peacock.
The western drama became an unexpectedly huge smash for Paramount Network in the last few years, to the point where the streaming deal with Peacock that first landed back in 2020 has been a thorn of regret in the paw of execs at Paramount+ and others within the company. It’s easy to assume they’d love to be able to boast the hit show’s presence next to its prequel spinoffs 1883 and 1923 and other upcoming Yellowstone shows.
Streaming news for Season 5 technically isn’t the only good news that has come out of the past few weeks. In the same announcement as the endgame news, Paramount Network also confirmed that Taylor Sheridan’s universe is expanding with another new spinoff that will serve as a direct sequel to Yellowstone, and will continue to tell the Duttons’ story, though it’s obviously unclear at the moment how many family members will be involved. Considering Kevin Costner was already likely done with the show following this season’s end, as he’s also dealing with a divorce from Christine Baumgarten, we can go ahead and guess that John Dutton won’t be a major figure.
So mark that calendar for Thursday, May 25, and get ready for a holiday weekend full of Yellowstone on Peacock.
