A New Yellowstone Spinoff Is Reportedly Coming To Network TV, And It'll Be Unlike Any Of The Other Shows

For a while there, it seemed as if forward momentum on upcoming Yellowstone franchise series had surprassed peak velocity and started to wind down ever so slightly surrounding the release of the Kevin Costner-free final half-season of the flagship drama. But it looks like there may be more Dutton family drama on the horizon even beyond Beth and Rip's follow-up series with Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser.

CBS Is Reportedly Angling For A Yellowstone Spinoff

Take this news with a grain of salt for the moment — salt obtained no doubt through the ranch's (now-former) chef Gator — but Puck is reporting that CBS has entered the Yellowstone fray once more, after having served as the western drama's linear home during the extended gap during Season 5. Network execs allegedly want a new show that's centered specifically on Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton.

At this time, it's unclear if the actor himself has been in conversations with the network, or if early development has happened without his involvement. But the report does note that it's in "pre-production," which connotes more than just a few phone calls and emails.

Kayce's Yellowstone Spinoff Will Reportedly Change Up the Format

Yellowstone from the start was a highly serialized drama with stories that literally took the entire series to fully explore, and to date, each of its spinoffs have followed suit. 1883 told the country-crossing tale of James and Margaret Dutton, while 1923 has given viewers a stressful look at what life was like for Jacob and Cara, as well as their globe-crossing son Spencer. All in all, large-scale and expansive tales.

That apparently won't be the case with the Kayce Dutton series, as it's being described as a "procedural." Which would likely mean that Grimes' military vet would likely settle into a case-based job that would have him investigating one crime or another in each episode, as opposed to telling more of a single, stretched-out story.

CBS is where drama procedurals go to thrive, at least when they don't end up on the list of canceled TV shows, so I can easily understand why crafting a tale-of-the-week entry within the Yellowstone franchise would be the go-to choice. Hell, I can already picture Kayce showing up on Fire Country or Tracker alongside Max Thieriot or Justin Hartley.

One big question that wasn't answered in the report is whether or not Kayce's family would be with him in this new project, though one can only imagine that would be the case, considering everything that went on during Yellowstone. So while Kelsey Asbille and Brecken Merrill weren't namechecked, I would fully expect both to join the new project, assuming there wouldn't be scheduling issues.