Yellowstone, no surprise, was a welcome sight for those who missed the Duttons. Sunday’s fifth-season premiere on Paramount Network posted double-digit gains in all demos, particularly among young adults, according to Nielsen results.
The episode that depicted John Dutton (Kevin Costner) being sworn in as governor was up 52% in adults 18-34 (2.53 Live+Same Day vs. 1.67) compared with the Season 4 premiere, and up 22% in adults 18-49 (3.96 L+SD vs. 3.26). It was also up 13% in adults 25-54 (5.48 L+SD vs. 4.85) and 10% in total viewers (8.8 million vs. 8 million).
The episode was also simulcast over CMT, TV Land and Pop on premiere night. As a result, more than 12 million viewers tuned in across all the platforms. There were double-digit gains in all the key adult demos, as well.
The episode kicked off with a reluctant Dutton taking on a new role in government — something he and his daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) aren’t relishing. “They are both incredibly reluctant to be there,” Reilly told Deadline. “I don’t think either one of them have any interest in this world. However, and it is a big one, Beth understands, as does John, that this is necessary in order to shut down the building of the airport. And the only way that they can enforce real change is for him to become governor. To see John and Beth in this position of power, perhaps squirming in it, it’s not how they play. They’re dirty in the way they do their dealings in business and now they’re having to toe the line a little bit and do things properly. It’s quite fun to see Beth not quite able to manage that.”
From MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, Yellowstone is from Taylor Sheridan (Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario) and John Linson. Executive producers include Linson, Art Linson, Sheridan, Costner, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari and Stephen Kay.