How to Watch The Entire ‘Yellowstone’ Saga in Chronological Order

So, you want to watch the entire Yellowstone saga, but are looking for a different way to engage with the material? Rather than simply watch Taylor Sheridan’s neo-western series in release order – starting at the first season of Yellowstone and ending with the most recent sequel spin-off, Dutton Ranch – you could start from the beginning: that is, the chronological beginning. 

Yellowstone is an interesting series, as between the main series and its prequels and spin-offs, it charts around 140 years of alternate history – where ranchers across the country are constantly embroiled in organised crime, and are more than willing to off-and-dispose of people if it means they get to keep their secrets a little longer – and focuses deeply on legacy, generational resilience, and connection to land. 

Here, we’ll chart a course through the entire Yellowstone Saga as it exists today, beginning with the crossing of the Dutton family to find their forever place – what will become the original Dutton Ranch – all the way to the most recent events, where Dutton Ranch is beginning anew. Then, we’ll dive into what the future holds for the Yellowstone series, as creator Taylor Sheridan steps away.

So put on your cowboy boots and get ready, here’s How to Watch Yellowstone in Chronological Order.

How to Watch ‘Yellowstone’ in Chronological Order

1. 1883

• Timeline: 1883
• Release Date: December 19, 2021
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabell May, LaMonica Garrett

1883 takes us back to where the Dutton family’s fortunes began. Set in the 1800s, the series follows a post-Civil War wagon train inhabited by James Dutton (the great-grandfather of Yellowstone’s John Dutton III) and his young family, and led by former-Union Army captain Shea Brennan, as it slowly crosses the US: from south-eastern Tennessee all the way to north-western Montana, where the Dutton family will inevitably settle. 

Throughout the series, the Dutton family is faced with the dangers inherent in crossing the young, wild country, encountering roving bandits, deadly animals and sicknesses, as well as destructive tornados and river rapids. Between these dangers, the band of travellers must also navigate a tense relationship with Native American tribes throughout the journey, with the wagon regularly crossing into ancestral territory – often putting them at the mercy of the land’s owners.

In the end, though, the Dutton family does indeed make their way to Montana, settling near the banks of Paradise Valley to build what will be soon known as ‘Yellowstone Dutton Ranch’.

2. 1923

• Timeline: 1923-1924
• Release Date: December 18, 2022
• Seasons: 2
• Cast: Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Darren Mann, Isabel May

Set 40 years after the Duttons settled in Montana, 1923 follows the family’s efforts to work the land while protecting it from a group of poachers set on taking their animals, and a business magnate keen on taking their land – often with deadly consequences.

Concurrently, it tells the story of Spencer Dutton – John Dutton III’s grandfather – as he makes his way back to the family farm after escaping to Africa following the horrors of World War I. The series is effectively a ticking clock – tracking whether Spencer can get back home before the family ranch is overrun by the combined force of poacher Creighton and magnate Whitfield, and turned into a tourist resort.

While knowing full-well that the Yellowstone Ranch isn’t leaving the Dutton family anytime soon does deflate some of the tension (otherwise how would the rest of the series even exist?), 1923 is a surprisingly good addition to the franchise – delivering some of the strongest performances in the wider Sheridan-verse.

3. Yellowstone

• Timeline: 2017-2020
• Release Date: June 20, 2018
• Seasons: 5
• Cast: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bently, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Jefferson White

Finally, the main event! While this is likely where most viewers will have started their journey in the Sheridan-verse, Yellowstone actually sits smack in the middle of the series’ timeline – taking up a four-year span to tell the story of John Dutton III and his family.

Despite being simple cattle farmers, the Dutton family just keeps finding themselves in life-or-death situations due to the uneasy peace kept across Montana’s landscape. Between border disputes with a nearby Native American reservation, and confrontations with a local developer who wants to turn Dutton land into his own money maker, Yellowstone showcases the Dutton family’s dynastic journey to becoming one of – if not the – most powerful families in Montana. 

As is usual for the family, however, anything gained is hard fought – and by the end of the series’ fifth season the body count is high, with plenty of blood on each family members’ hands. When all is said and done, the remaining Duttons – Beth Dutton and husband Rip, as well as Kayce Dutton – go their separate ways, spawning two sequel series in the process.

4. Marshals

• Timeline: 2026
• Release Date: March 1, 2026
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Luke Grimes, Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Brecken Merril

Following the events of Yellowstone, former Navy Seal Kayce Dutton joins a specialised team of U.S. Marshals given the sole aim of protecting Montana from violent threats and ne’er-do-wells in Marshals. Forced to raise his son Tate alone following the death of his wife, Monica, Kayce finds a new family in his fellow Marshals – before being forced to decide the fate of the Yellowstone Ranch itself. 

While Marshals very much exists within the same continuity of the broader Yellowstone world, it’s a very different show. Rather than focus on delivering more methodically planned out character arcs and long cons, Marshals is pretty content with each episode being a self-contained, CSI-style procedural following Kayce and co. as they deal with that week’s particular problems. While there’s nothing wrong with that approach, it isn’t quite what the Yellowstone audience were expecting, and the series didn’t quite stick the landing.

However, a second season of Marshals is in the works, meaning we haven’t yet seen the last of Kayce – good news, since season one ends on one hell of a cliffhanger.

5. Dutton Ranch

• Timeline: 2026
• Release Date: May 15, 2026
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney

While Kayce chose the stay in Montana after the ending of Yellowstone, Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler decided instead to head far south to take up ranching in Texas – and a new Dutton Ranch was born. After spinning up their new ranch, though, the Duttons find themselves targeted by a local slaughterhouse owner who wants to control the Texan cattle trade. And, when a cattlehand turns up dead and buried on the Dutton’s new ranch, all hell quickly breaks loose.

Dutton Ranch is more along the lines of what Yellowstone fans expect – beautiful vistas backdropping quasi-philosophical musings about the nature of man, the difficulties of farm-life juxtaposed by the often-murderous lengths ranchers are willing to go to to keep their competition down, as well as scheming landowners focused solely on destroying the Dutton family name. If you found Marshals a bit too different from the source material, Dutton Ranch will feel right at home.

At the time of writing, though, Dutton Ranch hasn’t finished its first season run – and while a second season hasn’t been announced yet, we’re pretty sure there’ll be more Beth and Rip just over the horizon.

So, What’s Next for the ‘Yellowstone’ Saga?

While a second season of Marshals is on the way, it isn’t the only bit of Yellowstone coming to a TV near you. While Sheridan initially announced a whole bevy of spin-offs and sequels to the series a few years ago, quite a few of them didn’t end up seeing the light of day—though there are a number of projects that are still on the way.

Here’s every Yellowstone spin-off that we know is in the works:

1944

A third prequel series, set 21 years after the events of 1923, has been on the cards for quite a while – with series creator Taylor Sheridan having teased it for years, at this point. While we know next to nothing about the series beyond the fact that it’ll focus on the Dutton family during the era of World War II, it was confirmed by Paramount on a recent earnings call that it is indeed still coming, and is likely to drop sometime in 2026.

Bridging the gap between 1923’s era and the beginning of season 1 of Yellowstone, it’s likely 1944 will follow an older, wiser Spencer Dutton as he navigates maintaining the family farm while his son – John Dutton Jr – is drafted into war, bringing up Spencer’s own struggles due to his memories of World War I. That’s speculation, of course, but we’ll have to wait and see what Sheridan does with 1944 once it’s officially revealed. 

6666

A rather confusing title, 6666 relates to the “Four Sixes” ranch – a well-known and historic ranch in King County, Texas which appeared in season four of Yellowstone. Ranch-hand Jimmy Hurdstram was sent to 6666 to “learn what it means to be a cowboy” after breaking a deal with John III, and ended up meeting a woman, Emily, who he fell in love with and married. 

Presumably, 6666 will follow Jimmy as he works the ranch and learns the cowboy trade – with a smattering of criminal conspiracy, if Sheridan’s prior work is any bellwether. However, 6666’s production has been slow largely due to the fact that it is a real, working ranch that, funnily enough, Sheridan himself owns. Rumours put the series launch sometime in 2027, but we really have no idea.

Is Taylor Sheridan Still Involved in Yellowstone?

While Sheridan is the creator of the Yellowstone franchise, he’s also been slowly stepping back from the series as he charts a course to new frontiers – namely, a move away from Paramount to NBC Universal after signing a USD$1 billion deal with the aim of shifting gear into movie making.

Sheridan still has his fingers in the Yellowstone pie until around 2028, but franchise-owner Paramount is looking to secure the series’ future without him: hence why the last two projects – Marshals and Dutton Ranch – have seen different show runners give the Yellowstone saga their own twist.

This isn’t a new strategy: it’s one that worked for some of Sheridan’s other projects, such as Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown, which started out with Sheridan heavily involved only for new show runners to pick up the torch once he was pulled in a new direction. Sheridan’s current project, oil-drilling drama Landman‘s third season, is expected to drop in 2027, after production kicked up earlier this year.

How to Watch Yellowstone Saga In Release Order

If you’d prefer to watch the series in release order, getting every little bit of information dolled out in the sequence it originally appeared in, we’ve got you covered:

Series	Release Date
Yellowstone: Seasons 1—4	June 20, 2018
1883	December 19, 2021
Yellowstone: Season 5, Part 1	November 13, 2022
1923: Seasons 1—2	December 18, 2022
Yellowstone: Season 5, Part 2	November 10, 2024
Marshals	March 1, 2026
Dutton Ranch	May 15, 2026

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