According to Nielson (via Variety), season 5A was the most-watched entertainment show of the 2022-2023 TV season, averaging 11.6 million viewers a week. That made the first half of season 5 the only non-sports offering to average more than 10 million viewers a week.

W hen it comes to the final episodes of Yellowstone’s fifth season, anticipation is running high as we wait to see how the show will continue without Kevin Costner’s John Dutt

The Field of Dreams director has had complications with both Yellowstone and his passion project Horizon: An American Saga

"It was always going to happen, it just happened a little bit differently." Although certain aspects of Yellowstone's ending are being kept top secret, there is one part of the show's final episodes that is public knowledge: Kevin Costner will not reprise the role of family patriarch John Dutton.

From upping the ante on Jamie and Beth’s feud to amplifying Rip’s role on the ranch to forcing Kayce to reckon with his internal battle of picking his family or the ranch, writing John off makes a lot of sense when it comes to intensifying his kids' stories.

No harm, no foul, eh? It's no secret that the final season of Yellowstone will be getting underway next month, and between the 2-year hiatus and the departure of lead actor Kevin Costner, fans are less than enthused.