By now, the world of Yellowstone has hugely swelled in its ranks. But is there is best order that its spin-offs “should” be watched in? Here’s what the show’s fans advise.
Even without watching it, it’s easy to recognize Yellowstone as one of the most popular TV shows around. However, at the same time, it can seem daunting to get stuck into as the Taylor Sheridan-verse continues to grow.
With spin-offs such as 1883 and 1923 growing in popularity – no, Lawmen: Bass Reeves isn’t actually involved with Yellowstone at all – new shows such as 6666 and the untitled Yellowstone spin-off are still yet to come.
But where is the best place to start? Some fans think they have the order down to a T – and it’s not always about what was released first.
Fans think this is how Yellowstone-verse “should” be watched
Over on Reddit, fans have been discussing which is the best way to watch the world of Yellowstone, with chronological order coming out on top.
Out of all of the shows involved in the world of Yellowstone, the main series still bears the most weight, clocking in with five seasons. However, fans are still waiting for the second half of Season 5 to be released, after new episodes were postponed until January 2024.
For many Yellowstone viewers, watching spin-offs in their chronological order proves to be the most satisfying.
That would look something like this:
- 1883
- 1923
- Yellowstone Seasons 1-5
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It’s worth pointing out that Yellowstone, featuring the infamous Dutton family, was released first, with its prequel spin-offs following suit.
“If you start at the beginning you get a deeper understanding of the sacrifices made to settle in the West at the time,” one fan posted on Reddit. “I have my wife watching from 1883, she’s midway through 1923 now,” a second agreed.
“I actually kinda didn’t like watching it [Yellowstone] after 1883 because I spent the first two episodes trying to figure out how the characters were related to the 1883 characters when it actually doesn’t really matter,” a third weighed in.
“I think 1883 is vastly superior to 1923 or Yellowstone. Of course, that’s a matter of opinion, but regardless of which we all prefer, 1883 is a very different show than the other two. It’s about the Dutton family, but it’s also a more self-contained story, and you could watch it without seeing the other two. There are some references to Yellowstone that you’ll catch if you’ve seen it first, but it’s only a couple and they aren’t big. It’s not like the Star Wars prequels where every 10 minutes there’s a callback or origin story.”
“Why not leave Yellowstone til last,” Redditor bay_lamb posted in a separate thread. “The final season is almost a year away, why bother with it until that gets closer, otherwise you may not recall the whole story when the ending finally gets here. Between the other two, it makes sense to watch them in chronological order, so start with 1883.”
As pointed out, watching Yellowstone and its spin-offs in chronological order means that new viewers will be primed and prepped just in time for new episodes of Season 5 to be released. The 1944 prequel would need to be slotted in at a later date, but follow-up sequels such as 6666 should naturally follow a timeline set post-Yellowstone.
“I tried watching Yellowstone several times, gave it a couple of episodes, and hated it,” one user summed up. “But my friend loves it. So I wanted to give it another chance. So I decided to watch 1883, then 1923, then Yellowstone. I REALLY enjoyed 1883, and 1923 was quite good, and those got me emotionally invested in finding out what happens to the land.”
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is expected to drop in November 2024. Until then, you can check out our coverage of the show and its spinoffs below:
Shows if you love Yellowstone | Why Kevin Costner’s leaving Yellowstone | Is Yellowstone on tonight? | 6666 Yellowstone | 1923 cast | Yellowstone cast | Will Kevin Costner be in S5P2? | Does Tate die in Yellowstone? | Does Beth die in Yellowstone? | Matthew McConaughey’s Yellowstone series | Yellowstone CBS changes explained | Yellowstone spinoffs timeline explained | Does Monica die in Yellowstone? | Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves a spinoff? | Are Yellowstone stars in Lawmen: Bass Reeves? | Yellowstone finale release date | Dutton family tree explained | 10 best Yellowstone characters