'Yellowstone' Season 2: Kevin Costner starrer gets a strong start as premiere sees 3.9 million total viewers
Paramount Network's flagship series 'Yellowstone' returned for a second season on June 19, 2019, and the show has already become unstoppable.
The premiere of the second season saw 2.4 million live and same-day viewers. It got 1.13 rating among adults aged 25-54, and 0.79 rating among adults aged 18-49.
The grand drama starring Kevin Costner was just off its 2018 series premiere record-setting viewership which stood at 2.8 million, matching the live and same-day viewing for the finale of the first season, while rising across demographics and setting a new series highs in adult 25-54 and 18-49, men 25-54 and 18-49, and women 18-49.
The first season of 'Yellowstone' averaged 5.1 million total viewers per episode, making it 2018’s most-watched new cable series and ranking second across all TV series for the year.
'Yellowstone' is as dramatic as family dramas get.
The series follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton (played by Costner), who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the all of United States.
His land is constantly under attack by external factors—a land developer, a Native American community that lives nearby, who have their own reasons, and methods, to claim the Duttons' land.
The flagship show can credit much of its value to Costner alone, who not only leads 'Yellowstone' but also serves as executive producer alongside John Linson, Art Linson, Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser and Bob Yari.
Across the night, 'Yellowstone' amassed a gross average audience of 3.9 million total viewers—which includes the Paramount Network premiere and encores, plus CMT simulcast and TV Land encore to rank it as the #1 most-watched original cable premiere so far this summer.
The total premiere night viewership for 'Yellowstone' is on par with the premiere of the first season, which has only factored in the debut and encores on Paramount Network.
According to a press release by Paramount Network, the L+SD demographic ratings for the premiere, showing the double-digit increase since the series first debuted on the network, are below:
P25-54: 1.13 (+11%)
M25-54: 1.28 (+20%)
W25-54: .99 (+2%)
P18-49: .79 (+19%)
M18-49: .89 (+24%)
W18-49: .68 (+12%)
It is no surprise then that the show has already been renewed for a third season—the network made an official announcement of ordering a ten-episode third season on the night the second season premiered.
New episodes of 'Yellowstone' air weekly every Wednesday night at 10 pm ET/PT on Paramount Network.