Which Season Of “Yellowstone” Has The Worst Ratings From Critics?

Yellowstone / YouTube

Critics Rank Their Favorite Seasons Of Yellowstone

Yellowstone is one of the most popular TV series out there. 9.3 million viewers tuned in to the Season 4 finale in 2022, making it the show’s most-watched episode for a time. The Season 5 premiere eventually shattered that record.

Despite the high viewership numbers, a bunch of  fans were disappointed with Season 4. Some weren’t pleased with the slow pace of the season, while others didn’t like how much time was spent on side stories relating to the spinoffs 1883 and 6666.

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Yellowstone‘s fourth season has an audience score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s the lowest audience score of any season (Season 1 is at 83%, Season 2 is at 90%, and Season 3 is at 87%…these numbers are all accurate as of January 4, 2024).

But which season is the worst according to critics? Do they agree with the viewers, who chose Season 4 as their least favorite season?

The answer is…no!

The Critics Loved Yellowstone‘s Fourth Season, But Didn’t Like….

Critics actually gave the show’s fourth season a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 11 critics’ reviews were combined to come up with this total score.

Season 3 earned the highest score from critics, at a perfect 100%. Season 2 earned a score of 89%.

That means the show’s first season earned the least favorable reviews from critics. The critics felt like it was the worst season of the series, giving it an overall rating of only 57%.

53 critics reviewed the show’s first season on Rotten Tomatoes:

“Few characters here are particularly likable or compelling,” Eric Deggans of NPR wrote.

“Yellowstone, a series that begins as a ponderous horse opera and develops into a somewhat preposterous soap opera,” wrote Troy Patterson of The New Yorker.

“Despite the presence of Costner, Hennessey and a few others, this show is bad and boring, which is a deadly combination to watch for 10 episodes,” Joel Keller from Decider wrote.

It’s somewhat understandable why the critics weren’t in love with the first season. The show was just getting started, and still needed to find its footing and develop its characters.

Clearly the critics ended up changing their minds…since subsequent seasons earned glowing reviews from them!