A little over a month after Yellowstone capped off its fourth season with that banger of a finale, Paramount Network finally went public with its Season 5 renewal news. Even though new episodes likely won’t be arriving until later in the fall, with production starting up in May, excitement is already building when it comes to what fresh hell Taylor Sheridan will cook up next for Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and the rest. To be expected, fans have zero problems with being extremely vocal about what they’d like to see next, even when it’s one of the show’s stars putting the question out there.
After the Season 5 news broke, Kevin Costner took to Instagram with his signature sage brevity and asked his followers what they’d like from Yellowstone’s next batch of episodes. Considering Costner probably doesn’t have a ton of input regarding the narrative details, with Taylor Sheridan captaining that ship, you might think fans would offer mildly positive and middle-of-the-road ideas like “John having more reasons to smile on a yearly basis!” And I guess you can find ideas like that, but a mass slew of the replies were more transparently candid and specific requests. Such as the following:
- More Casey and less cutting out to the 6666's or 1883 - trevor.saylor27
- Beth to get pregnant and a miracle relating to the birth of the child - e_brewer01
- Rip beating people up - twfh1967
- Somebody secretly puts Beth on meds. ... John actually wrong about something for once. ... Casey spotted by Hollywood producer for Legends of the Fall remake. ... John finally gives over all land to tribe, protecting it in perpetuity. - mantapage
That’s a lot to unpack with just four comments, while noting that some of these sentiments were shared many times over by other commenters. (Another response theme was “Fewer F-words.”) It was noteworthy to see how many people used the word “miracle” when describing Beth potentially having a child, with seemingly fewer hopes tied to adoption. I guess if you can survive a point-blank explosion, you’re ripe for experiencing miracles.
To address the other points, it’s true that a decent-sized chunk of Yellowstone’s fourth season was spent exploring Jimmy’s trip to the Four Sixes ranch in Texas, in part to set up the upcoming 6666 spinoff, while sporadic flashbacks featuring Tim McGraw’s James Dutton were also part of the mix to expand the timeline of Paramount+ 1883. I can totally agree with the sentiment about Rip beating people up, since he destroys people’s bodies in increasingly interesting ways. And I fully respect the over-the-top ideas contained in that fourth comment, since I 100% also get Legends of the Fall vibes from Kacey standing somewhere windy.
Time for Round 2!
- Ruth from Ozark to join and just wreck havoc alongside Beth. - benglish007
- More sexy cowboys in the bunk house. - lhsuperdiscofly
- Keep the story line! I will add for Monica to go away if you want to kill off a character there is one. I’m married to a SEAL and they don’t marry weak women lol 😂 makes Kayce look like a weak man. She’s such a complainer and annoyance 😂 - thehawaiiblonde
- Season 5 better that the mediocre season 4. Less cowboy shit. - christopherdeanjr
I love the idea of Julia Garner adding Yellowstone to her already impressive resume, especially if it would connect this series with the dimly lit world of Netflix's Ozark. Can't hate on more sexy cowboys, either, even if that'd probably just cause more trouble. While Kelsey Asbille's Monica did get some positive thoughts in the comments, a whole lot of people really want Kacey to divorce her, with more than a few people tacking her getting killed off to the wishlist. I'm also into the idea of Yellowstone sating this person's wishes to "keep the story line," since I'm sure that means something good, right?
Equally confusing is the Season 4 naysayer who wants this cowboy-filled series to feature less cowboy content moving forward. I feel like there are other shows out thereto watch that already do the deadly dysfunctional family thing outside of the ranch life that Yellowstone can exist as the one show that does it with cowboys.
Round 3 goes solely to requests centered on Jamie's relationship with, and placement within, the Dutton family. (Complete with adoration for Kevin Costner's physique in jeans.)
- I want Beth and Jaime to hash things up and show that they once loved each other! Oh and more of John you in them Jeans 😍 - angeliqarose
- Beth & Jamie make peace - pawnyuspearls
- I’d like to see John and Beth forgive Jamie. - cvidrio1
- Jamie to be exonerated by a life saving good deed towards the Dutton family. - queenie6469
A whole lot of people would like to see Wes Bentley's Jamie Dutton get something of a blank slate reset within the Dutton clan, especially when it comes to the hate-mongering Beth. Which isn't to say that there weren't fans also wishing for Jamie to take a trip to the train station, because there were. But by and large, familial love seemed to win out. Which probably won't be how things play out on the show, but that's what wishlists are for.
And finally, here are a few earnest requests that weren't particularly tied to any characters or plot points.
- Less commercials, more content 🙌 - lyfizgud05
- Free streaming would be great! 🤣 j/k - the.nature_in.me
- You guys win some awards for some of the best acting on tv…ever - courtney_couch_geer
There's a chance that Yellowstone could come away with a big win at the Screen Actors Guild awards. So that final ask might get answered even before Season 5 arrives. And hey, maybe Paramount will find a way to strike a backup deal with Peacock to share streaming rights to Yellowstone's already-aired seasons.
Costner, who recently celebrated his 67th birthday, hopefully had some fun sorting through those comments. I guess if John Dutton kills off a group of characters that share the same names as some of the more critical commenters, we’ll know he didn’t. As far as my own requests go, I have lots of questions after the events of Season 4, so I’d obviously like for Season 5 to answer some or all of those. And to clear up every loose end that exists otherwise. Nothing too complicated.
While waiting for Yellowstone to return presumably later in 2022, keep watching the Dutton ancestors struggling to stay alive on 1883, with new episodes hitting Paramount+ every Sunday. (It’s easy to lock down a new subscription if you don’t already have one.) And check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows will be around before Kevin Costner is on our TVs again.
