Yellowstone stayed on top of Sunday night’s television lineup, drawing the night’s largest non-sports audience by far. Despite being down from its record-setting ratings performance for its fifth season’s debut episodes, the show delivered in key demographics.
Yellowstone faced steep ratings competition from the World Cup at Fox Sports and Telemundo, but it still managed to hold strong.
Yellowstone’s third episode of Season Five brought in 8.83 million viewers across Paramount Network (8.03 million) and CMT (801,000) according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The series record was set just last week for the November 13th premiere episode when it reeled in over 12 million viewers. That two-part episode was simulcast across multiple Paramount Global streaming outlets.
However, last night’s episode of the Taylor Sheridan drama series still ranked as Sunday’s top entertainment program. It bested CBS’ The Equalizer (6.36 million) by a considerable margin, proving the Duttons still reign supreme on primetime.
Yellowstone has broken records for Paramount since its inception. At the beginning of the first season, the series smashed Waco’s record for most viewers on an original Paramount Network show.
The fourth season’s premiere episode became the most-watched television episode since 2018 when it premiered in November of 2021. And now, this season’s premiere episode topped even that high mark.
The third episode of the fifth season, “Tall Drink of Water,” was written by Taylor Sheridan, as are all the Season 5 episodes. However, Christina Alexandra Voros directed the episode, and she also directs the next two episodes of the series: “Horses in Heaven” and “Watch’em Ride Away.”
‘Yellowstone’s Record-Breaking Season 5 Premiere
However, last week, Yellowstone ratings shattered the show’s own record as it brought in over 12 million viewers for a shocking string of episodes.
The show performed extremely well in key demographics. Compared to the Season 4 debut, the Season 5 debut episodes saw a 52% increase in viewers aged 18-34, a key demographic.
It was also up 13% in adults 25-54 and 10% in total viewers, a strong posting for the Paramount series.
Yellowstone Season 5’s first three episodes debuted on Paramount Network. The first four seasons, along with the first three episodes of Season 5, are available to stream on Peacock.
Additionally, 1923, a spinoff of the series, will debut on Paramount+ on December 18, 2022. This new series stars Helen Mirren opposite Harrison Ford.
The show chronicles members of the Dutton family in the year 1923. The show will venture through the social, political, and historical elements of the time. These include Western Expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression,
The show’s other spinoff series, 1883, premiered on Paramount+ back in December 2021. That series stars country music singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill along with LaMonica Garrett and Sam Elliott.
