‘Yellowstone’ Creator Taylor Sheridan Already Knows How the Story of the Dutton Family Will End

Yellowstone became the most-watched show on television during season 4. But just as the western is hitting the height of its popularity, creator Taylor Sheridan is talking about bringing the series to a close. According to the writer/director, he already knows how the story of the Dutton family will end. And he is “writing to that ending.”

Luke Grimes says Taylor Sheridan would never let ‘Yellowstone’ go past its ‘due date’

Yellowstone star Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton) says he has talked to Sheridan about how many seasons the series would likely have. He thought he had an idea about how much life was left in the series. But now he’s not so sure because the conversation took place before Yellowstone became “the biggest show on the planet.” 

“When something becomes this big, I know there’s a lot of pressure to keep it going. But I do know that Taylor would never let it go past its due date,” Grimes told The Hollywood Reporter.

The actor says he never expected Yellowstone to become as huge as it is. But, he’s sure that viewership has skyrocketed because Sheridan “has a way of writing things that sort of hit home.”

“There’s something for everybody in a show like Yellowstone, even if westerns aren’t your thing,” Grimes noted.

Taylor Sheridan knows how the Dutton’s story will end

With Yellowstone finding such massive success, it would be easy to think that Sheridan would want to take advantage and milk that for all it’s worth. But, the Oscar nominee has other plans.

He told The New York Times that he is writing to the end of the story that he already has in mind. And that means the show will end sooner rather than later.

“Well, I know how it ends. I’m writing to that ending. There’s only so much hovering one can do before the story starts to lose its locomotion; you can’t put it in neutral just because it’s successful. It will go as many years as it takes for me to tell the story, but you’re not going to see nine seasons of it. No way,” Sheridan said.

The Texas native also noted that no one in the Yellowstone cast and crew wants the show to be extended indefinitely because that would “cheapen the product.” 

The conversation about the end of ‘Yellowstone’ is coming soon

Sheridan hasn’t had the conversation about the end of Yellowstone with the Paramount Network or the studio yet. But, he’s sure it will happen in the near future. 

“I would think that you would want this to end on an upswing as opposed to a plateau or a descent,” Sheridan said.

As for Grimes, he is confident that Yellowstone will never “jump the shark.” He knows that Sheridan could figure out a way to make the show go on “a little longer” and keep up the quality. But, it’s best to end things before the show “outlives its material” since that’s “no fun for anybody.”

Seasons 1 through 4 of Yellowstone are now available on Peacock. Season 5 will premiere Sunday, November 13 on the Paramount Network.