Renewals and Cancelations: 'Yellowstone,' 'The Diplomat,' '9-1-1'

Paramount has officially announced that Yellowstone will end after the back half of the forthcoming fifth season, which makes the announcement that Kevin Costner is leaving after the 5th season moot. It’s also being announced that the back half of the season will finally arrive in November, 11 months after the first half of the season ended. Production is set to begin in August. What’s unclear is if Costner will be around for the final season. It’s also unclear whether the scripts have already been written, and if not, if the November premiere is writers’ strike contingent.

Meanwhile, as Yellowstone winds down, the untitled Matthew McConaughey Yellowstone spin-off will follow. How it relates to Yellowstone is, so far, unclear: He may move onto the Montana ranch, or a number of characters may move to a Texas ranch run by McConaughey’s character.

— Here’s a weird one. Earlier this week, it was announced that 9-1-1 would be returning for a seventh season. However, the series will move from Fox to ABC, which owns the series. 9-1-1 was the most popular scripted series on Fox, but the network could no longer afford it. However, Fox is keeping and renewing the 9-1-1 spin-off, 9-1-1: Lone Star with Rob Lowe. A television show running on one network while its spin-off runs concurrently on another may or may not be a first. (Correction: roctavia in the comments reminds me that Buffy and Angel were on separate networks before the merger.)

— Speaking of ABC, not only will it add 9-1-1 to its fall schedule but it will also be adding back Dancing with the Stars after one season exclusively on Disney+. Whatever value the streamer got in airing it for one season has presumably dried up, so it can move back to its old home. Julianne Hough will also be returning to the show, replacing the departing Tyra Banks, and co-hosting alongside Alfonso Ribeiro. I don’t watch the series, but it feels like there has been a lot of turnover since the departure of Tom Bergeron. Why replace a host who had been successful for 28 seasons?

— Over on Netflix, they quickly renewed Keri Russell’s The Diplomat for a second season. I loved it. I thought it was fantastically entertaining, I adore Keri Russell, and Rufus Sewell was an unexpected delight. I binged it in two days. It was my favorite Netflix series in a long while. That said, I also know people who hated it, and had very good reasons for doing so. I’m not only talking about Roxana, but her, too. I think anyone who has had any experience in diplomacy probably thought it was bad in the same way anyone who may have gone to law school might have hated How to Get Away with Murder.

— Finally, Netflix also quickly renewed the second season of Sweet Tooth, which is good because the third — and final — season has reportedly already been shot. They had to shoot the two seasons back to back in part because they didn’t want their lead, Christian Convery, to age too much in between seasons.