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Yellowstone will feature 14 episodes in season 5, but there will be a hiatus in the middle of the season. The expectation when the season began was that the break would come after episode 7, “The Dream Is Not Me.” However, we now know that’s not the case, and the season won’t get two equal halves. So now the question is: when will the Yellowstone midseason finale air?

Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) and Kevin Costner (John Dutton) in an image from season 5 of Yellowstone
Cole Hauser and Kevin Costner | Paramount

John Dutton’s near-perfect day on ‘Yellowstone’ 

The next episode of Yellowstone will air on the Paramount Network on Sunday, December 18, following up episode 6, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow and You.” In that episode, the Duttons went back to their ranching roots and rounded up their cattle for branding. 

Governor John Dutton (Kevin Costner) briefly put politics on hold while he focused on his ranch, and he enjoyed a near-perfect day of riding and living the cowboy life. He did, however, have to say goodbye to his old friend Emmet Walsh (Buck Taylor), who died in his sleep on the journey.

“Well, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better death if you’d paid me,” John said before telling Emmet’s wife the news.

Meanwhile, John’s adopted son Jamie (Wes Bentley) appeared to be turning into the show’s primary villain and once again started scheming against his family. 

A Season 5 Episode 7 preview — more trouble is brewing for the Duttons

Where will the story go in episode 7? According to the preview, more trouble is brewing for the Dutton family. It opens with John on horseback, as he says in the voiceover “This is my favorite part…from everything we do. This is my favorite.”

More cattle herding is taking place, and then Kayce (Luke Grimes) rides up to John and Rip (Cole Hauser) and says “I found something you might want to see.” Viewers also see Beth (Kelly Reilly) having a drink with her dad, telling him that his business plan will “be the end of us.”

Cut to Jamie in his office sitting across from Sarah (Dawn Olivieri), as she’s heard saying, “The future of the cattle industry is no future. Your state will be on the hook for around four billion dollars.” The teaser ends with a fast-paced supercut of different characters before Sarah is heard in a voice-over saying, “Sounds like an impeachable offense to me.” All Jamie says in response is, “Yes, it does.”

“John deals with a problem with his herd. Senator Perry (Wendy Moniz) delivers news to Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). Jamie and Sarah plan their next move,” reads the episode description. “The entire Yellowstone enjoys a rare evening of fun together. Beth discusses a new business plan with the ranch in mind.”

When will the ‘Yellowstone’ mid-season finale air?

Episode 7, “The Dream Is Not Me,” will not be the mid-season finale as was first expected. However, the Paramount Network will not air a new episode on Christmas night, December 25. 

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That will be a “dark week” for Taylor Sheridan’s neo-western. The show will then return on New Year’s Day — Sunday, January 1 — for episode 8, which is also the mid-season finale. That means there will only be six episodes in the second “half” of the season when Yellowstone returns. The Paramount Network has not yet revealed when those episodes will air.