Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Season 4 Ratings Are A Big Shock
Kevin Costner's Yellowstone season 4 premiere was a big surprise for Paramount.
This article is more than 2 years old
Yellowstone Season 4, which was greenlit back in February 2020 before the debut of its third season, finally premiered on November 7, 2021. And as expected, the audience response to the new season has been massively positive as everyone had been beyond eager to know about the fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and the rest of the Dutton family after the explosive cliffhanger that Season 3 ended with. While the big response was predicted, no one knew that the palpable anticipation for what happens next would bring the season premiere a record-breaking eight million viewers!
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Yellowstone Season 4’s premiere this Sunday has set some pretty high records for Paramount Network. The new season, which debuted with two episodes, pulled in an average of 8.12 million viewers. The first episode alone had a whopping 8.38 million viewers, which makes it the second show on any broadcast or cable outlet this season to have the largest audience! In the process of bypassing its own record –the Season 3 finale got 5.16 million viewers — the Kevin Costner starrer set many records. Its surprising milestone is an all-time best, not only for the show but for Paramount Network as well.
Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Season 4 also hit yet another series high as the numbers it drew in are the biggest same-day audience rating for a scripted show in the last four years. This makes it the most-watched cable series since AMC’s The Walking Dead’s 2018 episode. President and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, Chris McCarthy has also celebrated the success the season has already achieved and praised Taylor Sheridan, series creator and writer, for bringing forth a “riveting world” that continues to entice audiences.
The heart-stopping Season 3 finale of Yellowstone saw the Dutton family in grave danger as they all became the unsuspecting targets of a deadly assassination. It left Kevin Costner’s John Dutton laying gravely injured on the side of the road with a gunshot wound. Kelly Reilly’s Beth became the victim of an explosion after her assistant opened a box carrying a bomb while Luke Grimes’ Kayce was busy fending off his attackers who were firing at him. The third season clearly left audiences hanging in a big way.
This paragraph contains spoilers for the season premiere. Yellowstone Season 4 revealed the fate of the Dutton family who, fortunately, all survived the fatal attacks. Kevin Costner’s John is taken to a hospital where he is recuperating; Beth escaped the explosion alive, though she is injured and temporarily deaf, while Kayce, bravely fought back against his assailants and beat them. As for the death that was promised, thankfully it wasn’t anyone from the Dutton family. It ended up being Roarke (Josh Holloway), the Time Equities executive who had been after the ranch. He is visited by Rip who unleashes a giant snake on him that bites Roarke in the face and leaves him dying on the ground.
For now, the only mystery that remains to be solved in Yellowstone Season 4 is who shot Kevin Costner’s John, who orchestrated the attacks. The Dutton family, known for their stubbornness and defending what’s theirs, has accumulated a long list of enemies who are all capable of seeking revenge by any means necessary.
