Topline
Yellowstone, the basic cable Paramount Network drama that has built up a massive and loyal fanbase, notched a new series ratings high on Sunday night, with its season 4 finale drawing 9.3 million viewers, according to ViacomCBS—a Game of Thrones-level figure that is an anomaly in a medium in which same-day viewership is falling.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 30: (L-R) Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Costner, … [+]
Key Facts
The season 4 finale’s 9.3 million viewers, combining live viewers with those who watched at some point on Sunday, topped Game of Thrones’ 2016 season 6 finale, which reached 8.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen—then a series-high for the popular premium cable HBO drama, though its final two seasons far surpassed that figure, with its season 8 finale reaching an HBO record 19.3 million viewers, according to CNN.
The season 4 premiere of Yellowstone in November drew 8 million viewers on the Paramount Network, according to Deadline.
Breaking Bad, another basic cable drama that rose from relative obscurity to monocultural status, beat out Yellowstone’s high, with its 2013 series finale reaching 10.3 million viewers.
Yellowstone blew past the critical darling AMC drama Mad Men’s series finale, which reached 3.3 million viewers, a series-high, according to Nielsen.
Yellowstone didn’t reach the heights that HBO’s The Sopranos achieved, as the mob drama peaked at 13.4 million viewers with its season 3 finale in 2001, according to Vulture.
Surprising Fact
Yellowstone and its prequel series 1883 are the only scripted series to crack the top 40 most-viewed cable programs of the week ending December 20, according to Nielsen data, with NFL games, Fox News, ESPN and MSNBC claiming every other spot on the list.
Big Number
106 million. That’s how many people tuned in for the 1983 finale of the CBS dramedy M*A*S*H, the most-viewed TV finale of all time, according to the New York Times. With the advent of streaming services and DVRs, along with the vast expansion of TV networks, finale viewership records for older broadcast TV shows like Friends (52.5 million), Seinfeld (76.3 million) and Cheers (80.4 million) may never be reached again.
Key Background
Yellowstone stars Oscar and Emmy winner Kevin Costner as the patriarch of a family that owns the largest ranch in Montana. Yellowstone was co-created by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who found success with another beloved cable drama, FX’s Sons of Anarchy. Sheridan was nominated for the Academy Award for best original screenplay for the 2016 film Hell or High Water.
What We Don’t Know
It’s impossible to compare Yellowstone’s success to nonlinear streaming shows like the Netflix smash hit Squid Game, though the company’s Q3 earnings report in October said the Korean drama reached 142 million households globally in its first month of streaming.
What To Watch For
Paramount and ViacomCBS have yet to formally confirm Yellowstone will return for a fifth season, though Cole Hauser, one of the show’s stars, posted an image of his character Rip Wheeler on his Instagram account with the caption “See y’all in S5!”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonbissada/2022/01/05/yellowstone-season-finale-reaches-game-of-thrones-level-ratings-heres-how-it-stacks-up-against-other-historic-shows/