Yellowstone was a bit of a phenomenon, and once it became obvious that people really liked it, creator Taylor Sheridan and his partners at CBS and Paramount+ immediately set about milking it dry. Hence, the Duttonverse, the slightly silly collective term for all the sequels, prequels, and spin-offs connected, however remotely, to the saga of the Dutton family and their endless efforts to preserve a stretch of land in Montana. For a while, this seemed like a relatively manageable affair, but in recent times, the pace of entries is very much speeding up rather than slowing down, so now seems as good a time as any to lay out a handy guide to keep track of it all.
Below, here are all the shows that exist in the established canon, in chronological order, meaning that this article also functions as a timeline. This is easy to do here, since several of the shows are literally named after the years in which they take place, but things in the present day are a little murkier. We’ve also included everything that’s unreleased as yet but rumoured for the future or currently in development, so you know what you’ve got to look forward to.
1883
The further back we go, the better things seem to get. 1883 is arguably the best individual entry in the Duttonverse, following James and Margaret Dutton (real-life husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill) as they make their way along the Oregon Trail from Fort Worth, Texas, in the hopes of claiming land out west, before settling in Montana on the vast plot that would ultimately become the Dutton/Yellowstone Ranch.
Narrated by James and Margaret’s daughter, Elsa, whose voice has cropped up in multiple other related projects, the first spin-off was the best of them, even today, and set the stage for how the Dutton family came to own their titular ranch in the first place.
The show was a massive hit, and a sequel season was talked about, but enough time has elapsed since then that the universe has moved on through different projects.
1923
While not as good as 1883, 1923 was even starrier, with Harrison Ford turning up as James’s brother, Jacob, and Helen Mirren playing his wife, Cara. Following the events of the previous prequel, these two have taken over the ranch and are attempting to defend it from bad actors and the march of progress, a process that took two seasons and mostly relied on one of the Dutton sons, Spencer.
The time period, reworked from an originally planned 1932, took in elements of post-WWI fallout, Prohibition, and the early stages of the Great Depression, making it feel less like a traditional Western, as with 1883, and more like something resembling the soapy theatrics of Yellowstone itself. Speaking of which…
Yellowstone
Kind of like a modern-day Dynasty, Yellowstone captured the imaginations of audiences when it debuted on the Paramount Network back in 2018, telling the story of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and his various children as they attempted to defend the ranch secured way back in 1883 from a slew of adversaries including land developers, gangsters, tourists, politicians, a neighbouring Native American reservation, and internal drama between the Dutton siblings.
At its peak, it was truly great and became proper watercooler TV of a kind that we don’t tend to get all that much anymore. However, it very much fell off in the fourth and fifth seasons thanks to some serious production hiccups. The core was still there, though, and it managed to stick the landing about as much as felt possible given the circumstances.
The legacy of Yellowstone simply can’t be denied, though, or we wouldn’t have the Duttonverse at all.
Marshals
An effort to do something a little bit different with the idea of a Yellowstone spin-off, Marshals is a classic-feeling CBS procedural first and foremost. However, it does include several characters from the flagship show, most notably Kayce Dutton, who joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals led by his former Navy SEAL comrade, Cal.
Unavoidably, Marshals has a very different vibe from a lot of the other shows on this list, but it does still feel of a piece with the other entries, thanks not only to familiar faces but also recurring themes and ideas, especially regarding the plight of the Native people on the Broken Rock Reservation.
Not everyone – including me! – has been entirely happy with some of the storytelling choices, but on its best day, Marshals very much feels like it’s perpetuating Yellowstone’s expanding legacy.
Dutton Ranch
If nothing else, Dutton Ranch feels closest to Yellowstone of all the spin-offs thus far. This is perhaps because it focuses on two of its most essential and beloved characters, Beth and Rip, as they attempt to make their own way on a ranch in South Texas.
Airing on Paramount+ rather than CBS, Dutton Ranch is able to adopt more of the patience and tone of Yellowstone, while also mimicking its structure and plot beats in a way that often feels extremely direct. This is ironic, in a way, since plot-wise it’s actually less connected to the flagship show than, say, Marshals is.
The Madison Is Not in the Duttonverse
Despite initial claims to the contrary – the show was initially announced as a spin-off – The Madison is no longer an official part of the Duttonverse, instead serving as a separate, stand-alone story. Many people, including me, have made this mistake, but the best way of describing The Madison is as Dutton-adjacent, since it’s still set in Montana and has a lot of the same essential values.
It’s a very different show from the others, though. Also airing on Paramount+, it’s a character drama about a wealthy woman from New York, Stacy Clyburn, who finds herself suddenly mourning the death of her husband on the Montana ranch he owned with his brother. It’s really quite good, differences aside, and has already been renewed for a second season, with Michelle Pfeiffer set to return as Stacy.
Duttonverse Shows Still In Production
Dutton Ranch Key Art | Image via Paramount+
For various reasons, it tends to be extremely difficult to keep track of what Paramount’s doing with this franchise, with confirmed spin-offs frequently changing title, being revealed to be disconnected, or ending up being shelved without explanation. With that in mind, take each of the following entries with a pinch of salt.
1944
The third in the numerically titled prequel trilogy, WWII-era 1944 is one of the stronger bets for a spin-off, one which would likely incorporate multiple plot points and characters from the finale of 1923. Most notably, this could include Spencer’s sons, one of whom is John – assumed to be the father of Costner’s John Dutton – and the other is an as-yet unnamed illegitimate child.
6666
A spin-off set on the Four Sixes ranch, which factored pretty heavily into the fourth and fifth seasons of Yellowstone, has been confirmed for ages, since way back in 2021, but nothing has been seen or heard from it since. The potential difficulty, implied by Sheridan himself, presumably stems from the fact that the ranch is a real working one with a storied legacy, which can create some filming challenges.
The show would likely focus on Jimmy, who settled there during the latter stages of Yellowstone. In the Yellowstone finale, both Teeter and Ryan ended up in Texas, albeit for different reasons, and, as of Dutton Ranch, Rip and Beth are also there. It’s a big place, but it seems like a bit too much of a coincidence that so much of the action has been shifted there for the Duttonverse’s long-term future not to revolve around the state. That bodes well for 6666.
The Matthew McConaughey Spin-Off
In 2023, it was confirmed that Matthew McConaughey would join the franchise in what was implied to be a new spin-off. Rumours swirled at the time that he might replace a key character from the flagship show, and then they shifted to suggest that he would front a present-day sequel with the working title 2024.
However, it has since been confirmed that the “2024” project ended up being The Madison, which, as above, ended up being disconnected from the Duttonverse entirely. With that in mind, it seems like nothing is going ahead with McConaughey, although we should all hold out hope, since he’d suit the franchise down to the ground.
He’s also from Texas…
Duttonverse Watch Order
With so many projects now included, fans may well be wondering how best to consume the Duttonverse as a newcomer. The list above is presented in chronological order, but we would strongly recommend watching in release order. This is to preserve mysteries and outcomes that are deliberately obscured, and so that the setups and callbacks make the most sense.
The recommended release order watchlist is as follows:
- Yellowstone Seasons 1-4
- 1883
- Yellowstone Season 5, Part 1
- 1923 (Season 1)
- Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2
- 1923 (Season 2)
- Marshals
- Dutton Ranch
