It’s always been a little weird that one of the biggest TV dramas on the planet has its home on a channel as little-known as the Paramount Network. Sure, Yellowstone was a gamble when it was first launched on the cable network—untested showrunner, expensive cast, the Western of it all—but it’s since become a massive hit, with its various spin-off projects mostly migrating to places where Paramount, the company, would actually like viewers to be tuning in. (Mostly, Paramount+.) But Taylor Sheridan’s mothership series remains the primary responsibility of the channel that was known, for many years, as Spike—at least, until a few weeks ago, when Paramount began funneling the show on to CBS proper, thanks in part to being content-starved for its fall schedule by the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The gambit worked, obviously: 20 million people reportedly watched at least one episode of the show’s first season when it was rebroadcast on CBS, at least half of whom had never clicked up the dial to Paramount Network to check it out before. Hence the not wholly surprising news that the “experiment” will continue, and that the show’s second season will begin airing on the mainstream network on October 29th—just a week after the finale of season 1 rolls, in what we guess is the “regular old TV” version of a binge-watch.
The move comes as Yellowstone inches toward its overall series finale; the show is technically in the midst of its fifth season at the moment, although it hasn’t run new episodes since New Year’s Day of this year. The show’s final half-season is expected to be a contentious one, most especially due to news that star Kevin Costner was departing the series, which reportedly led to its ultimate cancellation.