Taylor Sheridan once explained why season 2 didn't happen, which underlines why attempting a second season would have been a bad idea. Sheridan emerged seemingly out of nowhere in the last decade to become one of the most prominent (and prolific) writers/directors in the business. After garnering acclaim for his and screenplays, he moved into directing with movies like . Of course, he staked his claims as a TV mogul with, which debuted in 2018 and has become a monster success.
In the years since, Sheridan has created many more TV shows, including various or , starring Zoe Saldaña. Arguably his most acclaimed show is
, a prequel to that explored how the Duttons came upon the land their ranch was founded on. The ten-episode series was an emotional, violent and harrowing Western, but .
By the time the prequel series closed, the Dutton clan had given up on their plan to head to Oregon and instead settled in Montana. This is the place where the show's main character and narrator Elsa Dutton died (Isabel May), and her parents James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret (Faith Hill) later built a ranch on the land where she passed.
Sam Elliott's Shea was other major character, but he dies by suicide in his final scene, having fulfilled a promise to his late wife to see the Pacific Ocean.Every TV series set in the Yellowstone universe can be found on Paramount+.
In short, finale closed the book on this chapter in the Dutton saga, so there was no point in a second season. season 2 could have possibly focused on Jamesm Margaret and their two young sons struggling on the land, but this wouldn't have been nearly as compelling as their journey to get there. In the same way is fundamentally John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) story, the prequel was Elsa's, so without her, it would have felt like a needless extension.
In a interview, Sheridan explained was always intended as a ten-hour movie with a definitive ending. He also claims Paramount understood this, but they greenlit a second season anyway in response to the show's success. It's only when they asked Sheridan how he would explain how Shea "" his suicide that he realized they were serious about another season. Since he already had a greenlight to make a show, Sheridan retooled the concept into
instead.This sequel series picks up decades later on the ranch, which is now run by James' brother Jacob (Harrison Ford) and sister-in-law Cara (Helen Mirren). They struggle to hold onto the Yellowstone during a particularly tough period, and this has opened up the franchise to further spinoffs exploring different eras in . In truth, isn't as well crafted as , but considering Paramount has given Sheridan something of a blank check with the saga, more offshoots like are incoming.
James and Margaret were introduced during the fourth season of in a series of flashbacks. This is what gave Sheridan the notion of creating a prequel miniseries exploring how they found the land where the ranch was built, but these flashbacks also serve as an epilogue to their story. These flashbacks pick up a decade after when James and Margaret are settled on the land and have a new son named Spencer - who would go on to become a major character in .
Being a story, it all ends in tragedy. These
1893 sections reveal James became a ranger, but after hunting some thieves and being ambushed, he's fatally wounded in a gunfight. James manages to make it home but dies soon after. Margaret herself would die a year later, and it was left to Jacob and Cara to take over their ranch and raise Spencer and John Dutton Sr. Knowing where the characters ended up, it was another smart choice by Sheridan not to press ahead with another season of
