Yellowstone season 4: Why can’t we have more than ten episodes?

The long wait continues for Yellowstone season 4 — there’s still no premiere date, and very few details on what’s next. We’re still waiting for photos, a trailer, or even some sort of official poster.

Since we are still in the process of waiting for the show to come back, why not have a discussion about episode count? This is a show that only does ten episodes a season, and why is that? Wouldn’t it be nice to get a larger dose of new episodes at one time?

Have you watched our full Yellowstone season 3 finale review just yet? If not, be sure to check that out below! Once you do watch, remember to SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube! There are more updates coming that you don’t want to miss…

When you look at the cable TV landscape right now, it’s pretty darn clear that shows are trimming their episode orders more and more — the medium is becoming more cinematic! There are a few different reasons for this, with one being that smaller orders allow a show to tell a more contained story. It’s harder to have one single plotline stretch across 18-22 episodes, which is why shows like NCIS tend to be more procedural in nature. Yellowstone has more of a defined beginning, middle, and end — Taylor Sheridan either writes or co-writes all of the episodes. The guy has to sleep sometime! It’d be hard for him to write more.

One other reason why the ten-episode model works so well for this show is simple: The actor schedules. When you’ve got a landmark star like Kevin Costner on the show, it’s best to only have him film a few months out of the year. That enables him to still do a lot of other things. It’s the same reason why Viola Davis did shorter seasons of How to Get Away with Murder — you want to give big-name stars some options.

There’s still one more reason why this episode model works for viewers: It does leave us wanting more! Just think of how hyped we all are for what’s next!

Related – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to Yellowstone right now

Do you wish Yellowstone season 4 or season 5 had more episodes?

Be sure to share right now in the comments below! Once you do just that, remember to stick around to get some other news. (Photo: Paramount Network.)