Yellowstone season five part two finale directed by Taylor Sheridan will have a VERY unusual runtime

Yellowstone's season five finale will keep viewers in suspense for a 'super-sized' episode, directed by series creator Taylor Sheridan.

The sixth and final installment of the season, titled Life Is A Promise, will be one hour and 26 minutes, which is substantially longer than its usual runtime. 

It will air this Sunday, December 15, on Paramount Network and, according to the logline, obtained by THR, finally reveal 'the fate of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.'

Since launching Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018, Sheridan, 54, has produced and written nearly a dozen new shows, including Tulsa King, Special Ops: Lioness, Lawman: Bass Reeves and Landman.

Additionally, it was confirmed on Wednesday that he's working on a Yellowstone spinoff, starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler. 

Sources told Deadline the new show 'will likely feature' other 'cast members from the mothership.' 

Last month, Hauser teased that he would love to continue to portray his beloved character, Rip, while reflecting on the possibility of a spinoff and the continuation of the Dutton story.

'[It] sure would be a shame to stop a great thing,' he told People.

'I believe the numbers speak for themselves and America has spoken,' he noted, nodding to the immense popularity of Sheridan's modern-western series, which garnered an astonishing 15.7 million viewers last season.

He continued: 'Taylor [Sheridan’s] and my interest was to bring back an American man who is unapologetic, honest, loyal with strong values. I believe we have accomplished that together.' 

Hauser has portrayed Wheeler, the husband of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), since the series first premiered in 2018.

In August, reports surfaced that Hauser and Reilly were in 'negotiations' for a sixth season.

Although sources emphasized to Deadline that the deal was still up in the air, the upcoming episodes would focus on the on-screen couple's beloved characters following Kevin Costner‘s dramatic exit from the neo-Western drama.

The pair had previously been rumored to be joining the Yellowstone spinoff The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. 

In April, when asked about the possibility of a sixth season, Reilly told RadioTimes: 'I just care about finishing [Yellowstone] with as much care and as much passion and as much love as I can muster to put into it… I’m sort of prepping for that now, [and] that’s my tunnel-vision thing that I care about most.'

'And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense,' she continued.

5B, which returned on November 10, was originally announced as Yellowstone‘s last installment.

Costner left the show after 2023 amid rumors of a rift between Sheridan. 

Costner's attorney Marty Singer denied rumors that Costner refused to film on the show for more than just one week in Season 5 Part 2.

'The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,' Singer said last summer.

'It’s ridiculous — and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second,' he added.

The filming conflicted with Costner's plans to direct his first movie in 20 years - Horizon - the first in a planned four-part Western movie series.

Costner ultimately confirmed in June 2024 that he would not appear at all in Season 5 Part 2, in a video he posted to Instagram.

'I want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future,' Costner said.

'It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning and I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop and I’ll see you at the movies,' he added.  

Ultimately, his character, John Dutton, was killed off in the first few minutes of the season five part two premiere. 

The show wasted no time by revealing in the opening moments that Dutton had passed by suicide by gunshot. 

Many fans thought that Dutton committing suicide was completely out of character, though they would come to learn that it was actually a murder simply set up to look like a suicide.