Fans were left with jaws dropped at the end of Yellowstone’s season three finale on August 23. Viewers of Paramount’s hit show will be glad to know Yellowstone season 4 is coming. The show was renewed for the upcoming season back in February 2020.
Season 3’s ending shocked the nation with its cliff hangers and left fans sharing their feelings on social media. Not only was it popular on social channels, but the episode also made history. The finale drew in one million more eyes than any other episode of the series thus far. At 5.2 million viewers, the Yellowstone season 3 finale is the number one “most-watched cable telecast of the year,” according to the Paramount Press website.
So, after the record-breaking, fan-favorite season, when can fans plan to next see the characters hit their screens?
Season 4 Filming
Though the coronavirus pandemic caused filming to delay a bit, shooting of season four officially began last week.
Chief Joseph Ranch in Western Montana posted to their Instagram announcing the first day of filming on August 21. The ranch’s caption confirms that all of season four’s filming will occur in Montana. It assures viewers that full medical precautions are being taken.
Chief Joseph Ranch provides a safe-haven for filming during the coronavirus pandemic. Cast and crew will remain on and around the ranch to ensure the safety of themselves and the surrounding population during filming.
Covid-19 Filming Precautions
Taylor Sheridan spoke to Deadline earlier this summer about the Montana ranch and filming. He appreciates that the location is relatively remote: “I’m fortunate that this show shoots on a ranch in Montana. We’re going to shoot exclusively there this year, or in and around it.” The show’s co-creator assures that the cast and crew will take all necessary precautions. He has spoken with “the governor extensively about how to mitigate” the difficult situation.
While keeping up safety precautions, he explains it is important to keep the quality of work up to the series’ high standards, even when working under stressful, limited conditions. “What you don’t want to do is limit scope as far as the filmmaking or the teleplay,” he tells Deadline. “No one’s going to care in a year when Season 4 comes out that we were shooting under stressful situations if the camerawork and the scope of the show and the quality of the product isn’t what it has been up to this point.”
Sheridan understands being limited to the ranch and not being able to venture off the set is not an ideal working environment. To combat this, they are working to provide some benefits on location. In the same interview, he tells Deadline they are planning to get “entertainment on set every single day. You can get every meal there. We’re building an outdoor gym.” The extra amenities aim to help make filming during the pandemic less restrictive.
Expected Release Date
An official release date is yet to be been announced, but assumptions are being made on when the show will return. If season four’s debut follows the pattern of past seasons, it should hit televisions in late June 2021. The past three seasons have debuted June 20, June 19, and June 21, respectively. Therefore, if Yellowstone keeps the Sunday night spot and late June precedent, fans can expect to see it return June 20, 2021.
Yellowstone Season 4 Cast
After the cliff-hanger ending of season three, all main characters are likely to return to answer fans’ burning questions of their fates. Fans can expect to see more of John, Kayce, Beth, Jamie, Monica, Rip, Roarke, and Willa in 2021. No new characters or major character changes have been announced as of now.
How Many More Seasons Remain In The Series?
In his July 8 interview with Deadline, co-creator Taylor Sheridan told the interviewee he already has the entire storyline. He admits, “I know how the series ends, and you have to move in a straight line toward that end.” When prompted how much longer it may take to tell that story, he says, “Can that be another two seasons beyond this? It could. I don’t see this as a procedural show. So, it’s not something that we could extend indefinitely.”
While Sheridan hasn’t had official conversations about the length of the series with network or studio executives, it seems there may be 6 total seasons in this hit show.
