Ratings: Yellowstone Returns From 22-Month Break to Biggest Premiere Audience Ever
Yellowstone lassoed its largest premiere night audience on Sunday, with its first episode following an extended 22-month hiatus (and a rootin’-tootin’ amount of off-screen drama).
The contemporary Western’s Season 5B premiere amassed 16.4 million total viewers, Paramount is reporting, based on VideoAmp*’s “projected Total Persons/Live+SD gross viewership across all cable network and CBS airings (including premieres and encores).”
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*Paramount properties (including Paramount Network and CBS) are using VideoAmp for audience measurement these days, amidst a contract dispute with Nielsen.
Paramount notes that, back in November 2022. the Season 5A premiere night audience was measured across seven cable networks, whereas this Sunday night’s premiere night total includes CBS and eight cable networks.
TVLine readers gave the premiere an average grade of “B-.”
As viewers saw, “Desire Is All You Need” revealed that Kevin Costner’s John Dutton died by suicide — or so the authorities were led to believe. A flashback revealed that adopted Dutton Jamie’s conniving girlfriend Sarah Atwood pulled the trigger on their plot to hasten the governor’s demise, thereby paving the way for Market Equities’ lucrative airport project.
Immediately, Jamie’s sister Beth guessed that he was behind their father’s death and tried to recruit brother Kayce to exact revenge. While he wasn’t all the way on board at first, he most definitely gets there, based on a promo teasing the rest of Season 5, Part 2. (If Jamie’s about to meet his maker, at least portrayer Wes Bentley is braced for it; read his thoughts on Jamie’s life expectancy here.)
Want scoop on Yellowstone, or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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