The future of Yellowstone gets some clarity, headlined by an Oscar nominee

Cole Hauser in Yellowstone
Cole Hauser in Yellowstone (Image credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount)

November 10 is the premiere of Yellowstone season 5 and the beginning of the end of Taylor Sheridan's hit western show as that's mark the start to the final episodes of the series. However, the future of Yellowstone is taking shape, with the first concrete details emerging about what comes next for the franchise that has become one of the biggest hits on TV. Headlining the news is that three-time Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer set to lead the next Yellowstone series, titled The Madison.

Yellowstone had been extending itself beyond its flagship series prior to the surprise departure of lead Kevin Costner (due to reported scheduling conflicts with his movie Horizon: An American Saga) that ultimately led to the decision to end Yellowstone. But shortly after Yellowstone's fate was sealed, it was announced that at least one sequel series would be put into development, which has now become The Madison.

Detailed by multiple outlets, The Madison is described as "a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana." Exactly who Pfeiffer is playing hasn't been shared, but it would seem likely she'd play the matriarch of the main family. In addition to starring, Pfeiffer is also going to be an executive producer on the series alongside Sheridan.

Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer (Image credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

No details on when The Madison could premiere, but it is expected to be the next new Yellowstone series to come to TV (or Paramount Plus; where the show will air was also not divulged).

But that's not all that is coming. Among the early reports that Yellowstone was getting a sequel series it was widely believed that would include a series that would be a continuation of the flagship series, with the possibility of characters from Yellowstone continuing on. There's little new information on this series (including no deal for Matthew McConaughey, who was initially reported as being in talks for the show), but it still seems very much in the works.

In addition to these sequel series, we're going to learn more about the previous generations of Duttons with another prequel series, the next one titled 1944. There's little known about this series at the time, as 1923 season 2 is still being worked on before Sheridan moves onto the next era of the Dutton family.

Yellowstone as we've known it is going to end in 2024, but the Yellowstone franchise looks as strong as ever.

If you need to catch up to Yellowstone at all, all four and a half seasons of the show are streaming on Peacock in the US and Paramount Plus in the UK. Prequel series 1883 and 1923 are streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.

*Editor's note: a previous version of this story had the new Yellowstone sequel titled Madison.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.