Even though the Dutton family’s trials and tribulations haven’t been freshly depicted on TV in well over a year, that doesn’t mean Yellowstone fans have given up waiting for the remaining Season 5 episodes. The wait has been long and not entirely straightforward, but it’s been known for months that a spring production is planned ahead of a November release goal. And how many eps can we expect to see? Now we have conflicting reports.

Back in the days of yore, before Kevin Costner’s reported Yellowstone exit was a thing to worry about, Paramount Network ordered up a super-sized fifth season, with 14 episodes at play rather than the usual 10. So after the shit hit the fan in early 2023 and it became clear that the neo-western would be concluding with Season 5, we all started adhering to the ongoing assumption about how big the eventual return would be. But now that assumption has been challenged by recurring actor Josh Lucas, who hints that even more installments are coming. Let’s look at both sides of the discussion.

Ian Bohen Claims We’re Getting 6 More Yellowstone Episodes

Ian Bohen, the Teen Wolf vet who’s portrayed ranchhand Ryan for each of the seasons, spoke with Entertainment Tonight about what he’s aware of by way of Yellowstone’s future, and he’s pretty candid about not necessarily having 100% finalized details, while ackowloedging that things could always be delayed. But here’s how he explained it:

We will go back, rumor has it, in May. We shoot this summer, and then we should be on in November roughly. . . . You have to give me some leeway on that. It’s not gonna be any sooner that that, but it could be June. We shoot six episodes, so November, maybe December, and then we’ll go through the holidays, and then maybe a series finale on Super Bowl or something like that. And that’ll be the end of the era.

That sounds perfectly in line with what I was assuming would go down for the back half of Season 5, and it matches up with the early reports as well. Taylor Sheridan is currently filming Landman in Texas with Jon Hamm and Billy Bob Thornton, so that production will presumably need to conclude before the co-creator is able to bounce back up to Montana to figure out what to do with Paradise Valley.

Josh Lucas Things Even More New Episodes Are Coming

Now, the immediate instinct may be to dismiss Lucas’ thoughts as being not quite correct, since he’s not as much in the daily grind loop as all of the series regulars. As such, he may be speaking more from a place of assumptions rather than hardcore facts. And bless his heart for offering updates in the first place, but with a giant fanbase this rabid to see the drama’s return, it’ not a great move to share details that one isn’t 100% convinced are true. Did he just pull that “10” out of nowhere, or is it based on something he was actually told by Taylor Sheridan or other producers?

Or maybe Lucas’ Dutton won’t only be tapped for a Yellowstone return, but also for the upcoming continuation series currently titled 2024. I certainly wouldn’t turn down more episodes to cap the series off, and I know I’m not alone. Especially if Costner’s absence leaves a large unavoidable hole during the production, I can totally understand why Lucas’ take on the family patriarch would be utilized as an alternate solution. And if it requires a few more episodes to bring the story together, then so be it. But I still don’t know which co-star to believe.

I did text Taylor a couple of months back, and said, ‘Hey, man, I’ve loved working on the show so much.’ He’s like, ‘Well, we’ll be back.We’re gonna finish.’ I think we’re gonna do ten or so more episodes, and wrap up this story.

Now, the immediate instinct may be to dismiss Lucas’ thoughts as being not quite correct, since he’s not as much in the daily grind loop as all of the series regulars. As such, he may be speaking more from a place of assumptions rather than hardcore facts. And bless his heart for offering updates in the first place, but with a giant fanbase this rabid to see the drama’s return, it’ not a great move to share details that one isn’t 100% convinced are true. Did he just pull that “10” out of nowhere, or is it based on something he was actually told by Taylor Sheridan or other producers?

Or maybe Lucas’ Dutton won’t only be tapped for a Yellowstone return, but also for the upcoming continuation series currently titled 2024. I certainly wouldn’t turn down more episodes to cap the series off, and I know I’m not alone. Especially if Costner’s absence leaves a large unavoidable hole during the production, I can totally understand why Lucas’ take on the family patriarch would be utilized as an alternate solution. And if it requires a few more episodes to bring the story together, then so be it. But I still don’t know which co-star to believe.

As far as what fans can see the aforementioned actors in next, Ryan Bohen just played none other than the President of the United States alongside fellow Arrowverse alum Katherine McNamara in James Bamford’s Air Force One Down. Meanwhile, John Lucas is set to co-star in Peacock’s upcoming satire Palm Royale, which earned critical kudos for star Kristen Wiig.