Confirmed: Matthew McConaughey-Led ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-off is a Go, Regardless of Kevin Costner’s Return
Get ready to meet a new offshoot of the Dutton family. Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Paramount’s MTV Entertainment Group, has confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that a new spin-off from “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sherdian starring Matthew McConaughey and set in the Dutton-verse will be coming to Paramount+ in the next few years.
Such a series was first rumored to be in the works in February, when reports about Paramount’s dissatisfaction with “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner began to bubble up. At that time, the new series with McConaughey was allegedly intended to replace the flagship series in the franchise, as disputes surrounding Costner’s work schedule have reached the point that company executives are ready to discontinue “Yellowstone” altogether unless the situation changes.
According to McCarthy, the new spinoff will happen whether “Yellowstone” is canceled or not. The CEO did not have any further insight into Costner’s potential departure, saying only that the show “wouldn’t be what it is today without Kevin and we hope that that stays for a long time to come.”
One advantage that Paramount would see from the ending of “Yellowstone” is that it would no longer have to send new episodes to Peacock after they air on Paramount Network; Paramount licensed streaming rights to “Yellowstone” to NBCUniversal several years ago, a decision that Paramount executives call a mistake they won't repeat.
McCarthy also spoke about Paramount’s plans for its premium cable network/streaming platform Showtime, which now falls under his purview. Showtime will be merged with Paramount+ early in the third quarter of 2023, and will churn out new series based on the “Dexter” and “Billions” franchises. McCarthy disputed the notion that developing more shows off popular franchises was somehow lazy or easier to do than making content not based off an existing IP.
“What we’re applying is a movie model in premium television, and I think, like many things, when it’s new or it’s confusing to people, it’s easy to judge,” he said. “I also think people are just biased toward our company a little. It’s like, no one’s judging ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Game of Thrones.’”
The increased focus on franchises will also include Sheridan in a big way. In addition to the new Dutton-verse show, Sheridan is working on 10+ other projects for Paramount currently. It’s unlikely that all those concepts will get series orders from the company, but considering how successful Sheridan’s content has been for Paramount, it shouldn’t be surprising if many, or even most of them end up in production. Nearly a quarter (24% of users) who watched Paramount+ in the second half of 2022 went to the service exclusively to watch shows created by Sheridan.
For now, it appears the ball is in Costner’s court regarding whether or not “Yellowstone” will continue. But if you’re a lover of the Dutton saga, fear not; a new series set in that universe starring Matthew McConaughey is coming, whether the original show keeps going or gets put out to pasture.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.