The Dutton saga isn’t over yet. While Yellowstone, the flagship western drama, ended in 2024 and its successful prequel series 1883 and 1923 have wrapped up, Paramount has already announced another chapter in the Dutton family history is on its way: 1944.

While we still know relatively little about the details of the new series, in a May 2025 earnings call, Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, revealed that plans are in place for 1944 to debut in 2026. Though he didn’t get more specific than that, he did note that the series will follow some time after the Luke Grimes-led Kayce Dutton spinoff Y: Marshals, which will air in the first quarter of the year.

The news of 1944 first came in 2023, and also brought word of another Yellowstone property—a spinoff operating under the working title 2024. At the time it was speculated that 2024 could be the hotly anticipated Matthew McConaughey vehicle that was previously confirmed, but it now appears that the series will, in fact, be the upcomingY ellowstone sequel The Madison.

“Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. cable show with five million viewers into a global hit franchise with over 100 million fans around the world and multiple extensions – and, we’re just getting started,” McCarthy said in the series’s announcement. “On the heels of 1883 and 1923’s success, our new planned spinoffs, 1944 and 2024, will take audiences on a thrilling, new and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise and has helped turn it into a worldwide cultural phenomenon – thanks to the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan.”

The finale of 1923, which wrapped up its two-season run this spring, did offer some hints about who and what the series might center on.

Spencer Dutton would likely appear in the series, as the 1923 finale confirms that he survived and ran the ranch for another 45 years. The twenty year time jump between prequels could well mean that the role, which was originated by Brandon Sklenar in 1923, would be recast with an older actor, but it’s also possible that show creator Taylor Sheridan might prefer to keep Sklenar in the role, using other techniques to age him up. The actor himself has said that he’s game, telling Variety, “Listen, I know that ‘1944’ is a thing that they are planning on doing here, and maybe we see Spencer in 1944. That is something I would be interested in doing.” He added, “I would love to continue to do it in any capacity if I could.”

After two seasons of speculation, the 1923 finale also (seemingly) confirmed the precise lineage of Yellowstone‘s John Dutton, with the reveal that Spencer and Alexandra’s son is, in fact, named John Dutton II. Born premature in the finale, with his mother dying shortly thereafter, it’s a fair bet that John II would be a major character in 1944, as the 20 year time jump would make him a young adult at the time.

Of course, he might not be the only Dutton in the running, as the finale also explained via narration that though Spencer never remarried after his wife’s death, he did have an illegitimate son with a widow. Neither the woman in question nor her son are named, and no specific timeline is given for when the boy was born, but it’s certainly possible that Spencer’s unacknowledged son would also play a role in the plot of 1944.

There also remains the question of Elizabeth and Jack’s unborn baby. At the end of 1923, when the newly-widowed Elizabeth decides to return to Boston to be with her family, she is still pregnant with Jack’s child. So far, we don’t know anything about what happens to Elizabeth or her pregnancy, but it’s possible that there could be an East Coast Dutton in the mix when 1944 arrives.

Until more details about the series are revealed, there are any number of possibilities up in the air. We will continue to update this post as more information about the series becomes available.