Yellowstone (2018): Season 1

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 69 Ratings

See All

6.8

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.8	Your Score
6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 69 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Season Details & Credits

Paramount Network | Season Premiere Date: June 20, 2018

Summary: John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family deal with numerous issues involved with owning the largest ranch in the US including politicians, land/oil developers, an Indian reservation, and its neighbor, Yellowstone Park.

Genre(s): Drama

Watch Now

Stream On

Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E9. The Unravelling: Pt. 2
Air Date: August 22, 2018
tbd
S1:E8. The Unravelling: Pt. 1
Air Date: August 15, 2018
tbd
S1:E7. A Monster Is Among Us
Air Date: August 8, 2018

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Glenn Garvin

Jun 16, 2018

Fiercely engrossing. Read full review

Terry Terrones

Jun 18, 2018

This series is a visual feast, with stunning mountains, lovely vistas and spectacular camera work. "Yellowstone" will make the Montana Office of Tourism proud. .... While John Dutton is a bit of a mystery, I'm invested enough to see how the character and "Yellowstone" develop. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Nick Allen

Jun 19, 2018

It's jam-packed with the contents that have made Sheridan's previous stories so exciting to wide audiences, but it’s also more of a mess. And yet, “Yellowstone” still prevails as a compelling study of power, while it chews on what really makes a cowboy in 2018. Read full review

James Poniewozik

Jun 19, 2018

Yellowstone, of course, has the right to be exactly the show it wants to be, but for now (I’ve seen three episodes, including the double-length pilot) it’s an unsteady mix of several, held together by the sepia of basic-cable grittiness. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Matt Roush

Jun 27, 2018

The story refreshingly shirks Dallas-style melodrama, but its violent, tragic twists often lacks the intended impact, because it feels we've ridden this dolorous trail too many times before. [25 Jun - 8 Jul 2018, p.11]

Erik Adams

Jun 20, 2018

Costner delivers one of the most leaden performances in the recent history of marquee stars coming to TV, operating from a baseline of mild irritation that’s modulated only when he’s, say, in mourning, or being shot at in a helicopter. (And even then, just barely.) Much of the cast is out to sea here. ... Part of the show’s failure to connect might have to do with Sheridan (who co-created with fellow Sons Of Anarchy vet John Linson) crafting his characters primarily as symbols. Read full review

Tim Goodman

Jun 18, 2018

A big, sprawling mess ... Yellowstone tries to be so expansive and soap-operatic that there's barely any realism in it. Read full review

SEE ALL 27 REVIEWS

User Score

Write a Review

6.8

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

User Reviews

jshopd

Aug 13, 2018

Love the aspects such as profanity, sex, nudity. Closet dwellers, ostriches, and hypocrites of course will balk at it because they still believe it should be 1950's TV. We live in this world, not denial world. Great theme, very entertaining.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

wordymouth

Jul 3, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yellowstone is a TV western featuring the timeless battle between cowboys and indians. Only this time, the battle takes place in present day and the indians win the day more often than not with the help of a casino.

This is a joy to watch. The writing is crisp, the acting spot on, and the characters have a story to tell. When the patriarch of the Dutton family, played by Kevin Costner, does something particularly evil, it seems like he's doing it because he's trying to preserve a way of life. And when his youngest son, Kacey, shoots his brother-in-law (spoiler), we see his father, even though the son seeks distance from John Dutton.

Yellowstone could end up seemingly melodramatic. However, I think it pulls back just enough to make it less of a soap opera. It feels more of an authentic telling of a family struggling to fit in even if they have been controlling Montana for five generations. Maybe its a Western thing; the cowboy always struggles.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

OutDorJustice80

Jun 25, 2018

Very much enjoyed it so far. Haven’t been this entertained in a long time. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

6 of 7 users found this helpful61

Voodoo123

Apr 28, 2020

The fantastic cast, screenplay and call cinematography combine with a lavish production value to envelope you in the world of Yellowstone. The dramatic beats aren't exactly boundary breaking but serve their purpose well enough

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

dlchambers

Jul 16, 2018

Boy, do I want to like this show. But 4 or episodes in, it's just a predictable soap opera. Bad-girl daughter does naughty stuff but daddy still loves her. Good-boy son wants to - but can't - please daddy. Black sheep youngest son refuses family help and does heroic stuff. (Sadly, the mostBoy, do I want to like this show. But 4 or episodes in, it's just a predictable soap opera. Bad-girl daughter does naughty stuff but daddy still loves her. Good-boy son wants to - but can't - please daddy. Black sheep youngest son refuses family help and does heroic stuff. (Sadly, the most interesting son was killed off). Chinese actress plays pretty Indian wife. Costner scowls. Indian Chief broods.
Seriously?
This is the most disappointing show since Terra Nova, which also had huge promise but quickly collapsed under crummy writing and formulaic plotlines.
There's no saving this. It hurts me to say it, but cancel this mess already.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

slownight

Nov 21, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. "What if we do Dallas but make every character sound like cheap imitation of Rust Cohle from True Detective?!" is not a good pitch but that's what this is.

I watched the first season of Yellowstone in two chunks because the first three episodes were so underwhelming that I wasn't inclined to finish it. It's honestly hard to know what kind of show they're trying to make here. I loved Sicario and you can see that same gritty realism shine through in several moments but there are so many eyeroll inducing monologues buried throughout that it makes it difficult to take that grittiness seriously. Costner and Gil Birmingham's characters are especially guilty of this as they seem to think it is their sole duty in life to go around spouting off folksy wisdom to people in gravely voices.

Meanwhile, Beth and Jamie (played by Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley) are the single most unlikable characters in this or any show in recent memory. Beth is presented as a tough wounded woman with an axe to grind and Jamie as a wormy city boy (even though he grew up on the same ranch as everybody else in the show). Their sibling rivalry goes a long way to reveal the depths of their characters but doesn't show us anything more than petty sniping and isn't redeeming or even remotely fun to watch. Rounded out with Luke Grimes' depiction of the honest but lost third child Kayce, these three each represent the various aspects of John Dutton's character. Unfortunately, he comes across as more of a whiny conservative than a gruff, western mafia boss.

The show is only really good when you see the grizzled and stoic enforcer character, the aptly name "Rip," showing his true colors and standing up for one of the weaker cowboys. A true sense of actual family values manages to bubble to the surface in a moment like this and it is a welcome respite from the near constant hatred each of the main characters harbors against one another. But it's only a short moment in the grand scheme and doesn't amount to much in the end.

Season 1 as a whole was very disappointing and underwhelming and in the end seemed more like a very long, very boring series of character studies or a daytime soap opera than a contender in the modern "Peak TV" landscape. The story arc is almost non-existent and many times I had to check which episode I was watching because I couldn't believe that I was so far into the season without a serious sense of an approaching climax.

Essentially, the show doesn't deliver on its promises. I remember feeling this way when I first watched Mad Men. The difference being that the life of ad executives and creatives never approaches the steep cliff of murder and mayhem the way a show like Yellowstone indicated that it would. You might go through an entire season of Mad Men without seeing anything remotely exciting but looking at the promotional material doesn't indicate that. Those expectations came from my understanding of what TV was supposed to be by watching other shows. Mad Men subverted that and instead delivered a thoughtful, challenging look at the inner lives of its characters and their overall place in 1960s America. Yellowstone, on the other hand, can't really decide what it wants to do. Explosions and adventure, cynical melodrama, clunky social commentary...all of the above?… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

brendak9

Jun 29, 2018

Pretty much disappointed,i mainly only watched 1st episode to see Buck Taylor,Rudy Ramos and Ian Bowen, and to see what it is about and i love those 3 actors above and wish they were in more movies,i like Kevin Costner,but not near as much as the 3 i mentioned above,so i am sad Buck and RudyPretty much disappointed,i mainly only watched 1st episode to see Buck Taylor,Rudy Ramos and Ian Bowen, and to see what it is about and i love those 3 actors above and wish they were in more movies,i like Kevin Costner,but not near as much as the 3 i mentioned above,so i am sad Buck and Rudy are only in 1st episode,but i went ahead and watched 2nd episode..because Ian Bowen was suppose to be in it and i have yet to see him,i did not even see him in 1st episode,i loved him on Teen wolf and was excited to see him in a western,is he not really on here,i suffered thru the 2nd episode waiting to see him,because i am actually very bored with the Yellowstone series,so far,especially since there will be no more Rudy Ramos and Buck Taylor… Expand

0 of 10 users found this helpful010

SEE ALL 31 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

57

Series Overview
Season 5

63
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: November 13, 2022
Season 4

tbd
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: November 7, 2021
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: June 21, 2020
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: June 19, 2019
Season 1

54
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: June 20, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E9. The Unravelling: Pt. 2
  Air Date: August 22, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E8. The Unravelling: Pt. 1
  Air Date: August 15, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E7. A Monster Is Among Us
  Air Date: August 8, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E6. The Remembering
  Air Date: August 1, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E5. Coming Home
  Air Date: July 25, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E4. The Long Black Train
  Air Date: July 18, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E3. No Good Horses
  Air Date: July 11, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E2. Kill the Messenger
  Air Date: June 27, 2018
- tbd
  S1:E1. Daybreak
  Air Date: June 20, 2018