Taylor Sheridan TV Shows Ratings: Do Any of Them Beat ‘Yellowstone’?

Taylor Sheridan TV shows continue to break records on broadcast, cable, and streaming services. The Yellowstone spinoff, Dutton Ranch, is the latest one. Its premiere ratings trounced the Paramount+ premiere record previously set by Sheridan’s newest non-Yellowstone show, The Madison, but it’s the CBS Kayce Dutton spinoff, Marshals, that is the true viewership hit of 2026 — and we’re not talking only among Sheridan titles. With Dutton Ranch Season 1 ending on Friday, July 3, we’re putting the Sheridan TV universe into perspective by comparing the premiere (and other noteworthy) ratings of his scripted shows.

Marshals is the first Yellowstone spinoff that isn’t written by Sheridan (he’s still an executive producer), and it’s by and large the most-watched Sheridan show currently on TV. Still, no episodes of a scripted Sheridan TV show have had more same-day viewers than the Yellowstone Season 5B’s premiere and finale.

The 5B premiere had an audience of 16.4 million live viewers across Paramount Network and a collection of simulcasts and encores on CBS and eight cable channels. The 5B finale (the series finale) audience was only across two cable channels (Paramount and CMT). When excluding encores and broader simulcasts, the series finale was the most-watched live episode of Yellowstone ever, with 11.4 million same-day viewers. It grew to 13.1 million viewers in three days.

There was two-year break between the Yellowstone Season 5A finale and the 5B premiere. Kevin Costner left Yellowstone in the time between. It was accurately presumed that the fate of his character, John Dutton, would be revealed in the 5B premiere. The dramatic intrigue surrounding Costner and Sheridan’s creative split contributed to the 5B premiere audience size, in addition to the simulcasts. The series finale drew its record audience because viewers knew in advance that the show was ending.

The Yellowstone Season 5A premiere had a record-setting (for the time) 12.1 million live and same-day viewers. The Season 5A finale had 10.3 million (L+SD). The Season 4 premiere had 8 million (L+SD).

Marshals surpassed the Yellowstone Season 4 premiere with its debut on CBS, which had 9.52 million live viewers, the most-watched new scripted series premiere without a football lead-in since 2018. Over 35 days, it amassed a broadcast and streaming audience of 20.7 million across CBS and Paramount+.

The two-episode Dutton Ranch premiere amassed 12.9 million views globally in the seven days since its premiere, making it the newest biggest Original Series launch in Paramount+ history. The two episodes had 2.9 million total viewers on premiere night, the biggest series premiere on cable since 2023, with 1.9 million viewers for the first episode. Dutton Ranch also ranked as the No. 1 cable entertainment telecast on premiere day among both adults 18-49 and total viewers.

The Madison, a Paramount+ exclusive, had 8 million viewers in its first 10 days, a new record before Dutton Ranch blew past that in the same window of time. But later episodes of Landman have outperformed the Dutton Ranch debut. The Landman Season 2 premiere brought in 9.2 million streaming views in two days, while the Season 2 finale increased to 14.8 million worldwide views in just two days.

The Yellowstone prequel 1923 first debuted on Paramount Network and cable simulcasts before streaming exclusively on Paramount+. The series premiere had 7.4 million total viewers across streaming and linear telecasts on Paramount Network, plus two encores and CMT. On streaming, the premiere had 2.2 million viewers. The 1923 Season 2 premiere increased to 5.4 million global viewers on streaming, setting a record at the time.

Many Sheridan shows that come out on Paramount+ have broken viewership records for the streamer upon their debuts. Mayor of Kingstown Season 1, which first came out on streaming and then got a cable airing, was the No. 1 original scripted drama on Paramount+ since its rebrand, as well as cable’s biggest scripted premiere since Yellowstone in June 2018 with 2.6 million total viewers, until 1883 debuted.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves, an anthology series executive-produced but not written by Sheridan, first debuted on Paramount+ on November 5, 2023, followed by a CBS broadcast on November 12, 2023. The first two episodes brought in 7.5 million global viewers in the first week across Paramount+ and broadcast, which was a Paramount+ record at the time, per Deadline. The Lioness Season 2 premiere had 12.4 million global viewers across all platforms, per The Wrap.

Tulsa King audience data also has not been shared since its Season 2 renewal in 2022. That year, it helped give Paramount+ its highest single-day start ever. It was also the No. 1 new series premiere on cable, with its preview on Paramount Network on premiere day, November 13, having 3.7 million total viewers, more than House of the Dragon and The Old Man.

Dutton Ranch, Season 1 Finale, Friday, July 3, 8/7c, Paramount Network, Streaming on Paramount+

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