Now that Yellowstone season 5B has officially wrapped up, the question of whether fans can expect Yellowstone season 6 has a newfound sense of urgency.

For context, in light of the extremely public divorce between co-creator Taylor Sheridan and leading man Kevin Costner – which culminated in the latter’s John Dutton III being assassinated onscreen – the fifth season was styled as the main show’s closing chapter; having originally mapped out a seven-season plan.

Here’s everything we actually know about Yellowstone season 6.

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Has Yellowstone season 6 been confirmed? Yes and no…

While a batch of episodes officially marketed as Yellowstone season 6 has not been confirmed, the flagship series’ storyline will indeed continue: mainly through the tentatively titled Dutton Ranch with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), as well as the recently-announced Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) spin-off.

“Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits – from 1883 to Tulsa King,” said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios.

“And I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life.”

David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, added: “The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale. We are thrilled to bring this new journey to audiences around the world.”

The other sequel series – previously to be fronted by Matthew McConaughey – is a spin-off starring Michelle Pfeiffer, dubbed The Madison. Though it’s unclear how much this will truly continue from the flagship (more on this later).

The story that fans really care about – and will naturally segue from the season 5 finale onwards – is, of course, Dutton Ranch.

“It’ll likely feature other cast members from the mothership series alongside Reilly and Hauser, I hear,” Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva previously explained.

“Led by Yellowstone characters played by the same actors in the same present-day time frame, the new offshoot shares the most DNA with the mothership of any shows in the Yellowstone universe to date, which explains why it will be the first spinoff to carry Yellowstone in the title, sources said.”

Incidentally, there is a strategic advantage to the Beth and Rip show being packaged as something other than Yellowstone season 6 – even if it is functionally a sixth season.

Given the flagship series’ ongoing exclusive streaming deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock – which predated the arrival of Paramount+; and is somewhat mirrored by Stan’s exclusive claim here in Australia – continuing Yellowstone under a different name would effectively allow Paramount to keep the new episodes within the company’s ecosystem as opposed to sharing the goods like they have been.

Let’s just hope this bit of legal judo won’t lead Paramount to another multi-million-dollar lawsuit vis-à-vis South Park.

What could the sixth season of Yellowstone (AKA Dutton Ranch) be about?

“Yellowstone season 6″ or Dutton Ranch will simply be the Beth and Rip show. Which opens some exciting story possibilities for the lovebirds and their working ranch 40 miles west of Dillon, Montana.

“You can go on forever about these two. There’s no walls when it comes to them, no limits,” said Cole Hauser himself, who has consistently expressed interest in further exploring Beth and Rip.

Though when prompted about specifics, the leading man remained quite tight-lipped.

“I think America has spoken. They still love the show,” Hauser told People.

“There’s obviously just tons of people that every Sunday get together with their families, and we give them the experience of taking ’em out of their own living rooms and putting ’em in Montana and entertaining them. And I think ultimately it’s just that simple.”

Kelly Reilly has similarly given very little away, bidding farewell to the flagship series in a recent Instagram post.