‘Yellowstone’ Breaks Records With Season 4 Premiere Ratings

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone
Paramount Network

The Yellowstone Season 3 finale left fans needing to see what happened next, and it paid off when it comes to ratings. The Paramount Network drama, created by Taylor Sheridan, reached series highs with the November 7 two-episode Season 4 premiere.

The Season 4 premiere on Paramount Network was up 104% in viewers, with 8 million tuning in (Live+Same Day) vs. 4.2 million, and 82% in the key demo among adults 18-49, with a 3.26 rating (Live+Same Day), from Season 3’s opener, according to Deadline. That’s also a 119% increase from the Season 3 average (1.49 rating).

The episode was simulcast on CMT, TV Land, and Pop. The four combined for 9.5 million viewers (up 86% from the four telecasts of the Season 3 premiere), and in total, with encores, 11.2 million tuned in (which is up 69% from last season’s 6.6 million for the opener).

“Taylor has created a riveting world that our remarkable cast led by Kevin Costner brings to life in a way audiences can’t get enough of,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, said in a statement to Deadline. “The Yellowstone season four premiere numbers are just another reason why we are thrilled to deepen our relationship with Taylor and capitalize on this tremendous momentum by building out the Yellowstone franchise together.”

McCarthy is referring to the upcoming prequel, 1883, for which a sneak peek aired during the Yellowstone Season 4 premiere. (The new Sheridan series will be released on Paramount+, with the premiere on December 19.)

The Season 4 premiere on Paramount Network was also the most-watched cable series telecast since an episode of The Walking Dead in 2018 and beat out Game of Thrones 6.6 million viewers (Live+Same Day) for its Season 4 premiere. It also topped viewers (Live+Same Day) among adults 18-49 (2 million) and adults 25-54 (2.9 million) for a 2021 entertainment telecast on a broadcast or cable network.

Yellowstone, Sundays, 8/7c, Paramount Network