Those who have been missing Kevin Costner on their TV screens must be sure to check out his latest project, which releases on December

9. In recent years, the veteran actor has attracted new generations of fans when he led the Yellowstone cast with his portrayal of stoic

family patriarch John Dutton. However, Costner left Yellowstone prematurely amid a wave of controversy, departing before the end of the show’s fifth and final season.

This was to the detriment of Taylor Sheridan’s popular neo-Western series, and Yellowstone ended up tarnishing its own legacy by how it handled Costner’s departure. Though the Yellowstone franchise will continue to chug along with myriad spinoffs, Costner fans have been clamoring for him to return to the small screen, and next week they’ll get their wish.

The John Dutton actor’s first television appearance since leading the cast of Yellowstone, Kevin Costner will host his own network TV Christmas special, Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas, which will air on ABC on Tuesday, December 9 at 8 PM EST. It will be a two-hour show telling the story of Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Jesus, with Costner serving as host.

Costner recently spoke about his upcoming Christmas special to People, saying, “It’s a story I think we all think we know. I think maybe some of us know a lot, maybe you know just a little, maybe you’re a believer, maybe you’re a cynic or maybe — hopefully — you’re just curious to find out the real story that’s behind the tradition.”

ABC started its holiday programming lineup on Thanksgiving weekend, with the network offering a slew of various festive specials through the month of December, including The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade. Popular ABC series like Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary will release holiday-themed episodes, while perennial holiday season movies like The Sound of Music and Home Alone will also air.

While Yellowstone may have been Kevin Costner’s last television appearance, the actor and filmmaker certainly isn’t resting on his laurels. A major reason why Costner left Yellowstone in the first place was so he could focus on making his own Western epic, Horizon: An American Saga.

The Horizon saga is set to be a film franchise of at least four movies directed by and starring Costner, all exploring the expansion of the American West in the pre- and post-Civil War eras, and all set to be just under three hours in length. The first film, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 released widely on June 28, 2024 after having premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Unfortunately, the first Horizon movie underperformed both in terms of critical reception (51% on Rotten Tomatoes) and box office gross (

$38,835,702 worldwide). Though Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 has also been completed, and had its premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September 2024, its release has been indefinitely delayed due to the box office failure of Chapter 1.