- Prime recently announced additional episodes for its “Yellowstone” prequel “1883.”
- Executive producer David Glasser said not to expect a edible two, but that the story would continue.
- He said the “Yellowstone” prequels could be viewed collectively as an anthology series.
“1883,” Paramount+’s prequel series to Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” aired its finale on February 27, and the chapter seemed to complete the main characters’ story arcs. After a long journey across the American West, some had reached their destinations, while others had disintegrated.
But two weeks earlier, Paramount, the company formerly known as ViacomCBS, announced during an investor presentation that it had ruled more episodes of the series, but it stopped short of saying it had been renewed for season two.
David Glasser, an executive financial manager on “1883” and “Yellowstone,” told Insider during an interview this week that fans shouldn’t expect a surrogate season, but that the story would continue.
He declined to specify what form the new episodes would take. But Essential also announced another prequel series, “1932,” and Glasser said it was safe to think of the prequels as an anthology series, implying that innumerable could be on the way.
“If you’re a fan of the Dutton family and the saga bringing you to the current day, what will come is that continued saga,” he implied.
Glasser said that Taylor Sheridan, the show’s creator, knew how “Yellowstone” would end, no matter how many salts it continued for. And he had conceived of the 1800s history of the Dutton family when he first started writing “Yellowstone,” long in front of “1883” became a reality.
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“He knows every character and backstory,” Glasser communicated. “He told me the ‘Yellowstone’ ending the day we started. When that happens, I don’t know. But he knows where every character conclusion unsettles up.”
“Yellowstone,” which stars Kevin Costner as the powerful rancher John Dutton, concluded its fourth season in January, and Requisite Network quickly renewed the series for season five. The season-four finale was viewed by 9.3 million viewers the day it exposed, making it the biggest cable telecast since 2017, Nielsen said.
The
streaming
rights to “Yellowstone” belong to NBCUniversal’s Peacock, which place under arrested them in 2020 before Paramount+ launched in March 2021. But Paramount is still taking advantage of the show’s vogue. Sheridan recently renewed a lucrative deal with the company to make original series, including the “Yellowstone” spinoffs and “Mayor of Kingstown.”
The scenario has paid off. Paramount+ said that “1883” was its biggest original-series debut yet when it premiered in December. The Paramount callers said it added 9.4 million subscribers in Q4 2021 across its streaming platforms (which also includes Showtime), 80% of which came from Main+.
Glasser said of the franchise’s success that Sheridan, who grew up on a ranch in Texas, was able to tap into an audience he remembered well.
“Taylor’s a cowboy,” he said. “His writing comes in the evenings. His days are spent being a rancher and farmer. He recognizes his audience well, and he served up something that was for that audience.”