“Yellowstone” On CBS – The Ratings Are In For Episodes 2 & 3

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Yellowstone Gets Its Broadcast TV Debut On CBS – The Ratings Just Came In For Episodes 2 & 3

Yellowstone took a midseason break from Season 5 in January, and has yet to return. In May, Paramount announced the series will end after the last half of Season 5 concludes.

However, the Yellowstone cast has not started filming those final episodes. This is due to the Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actor’s Guild strikes (the former just ended after nearly 150 days).

“We have not [started filming the second half of season 5] because of the writers strike,” Kayce Dutton actor Luke Grimes confirmed in an interview with PEOPLE before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Those who are feeling a lack of Yellowstone in their lives at the moment can look to CBS.

The network acquired the rights to air all past episodes of Yellowstone, marking the series’ broadcast TV debut. It was previously exclusive to the Paramount Network, a premium channel.

Get More Details About Yellowstone On CBS

CBS started airing Yellowstone from the beginning on Sunday, September 17 at 9 PM. After the ratings came in, they showed that 6.56 million people tuned in to watch Season 1, Episode 1 on CBS.

This marks a 132% increase in viewers from when the premiere aired on Paramount Network in 2018. At that time, 2.8 million people tuned in to watch the debut episode.

Deadline reported the Yellowstone premiere on CBS was “the largest audience for a scripted series on the broadcast networks since the season finale of NCIS in late May.”

How Did Episodes 2 & 3 Of Yellowstone Perform On CBS?

Episodes 2 and 3 of Yellowstone aired on CBS on September 24. Both episodes performed better ratings-wise when compared to their original airings on the Paramount Network.

According to Variety, Episode 2 drew in an average of 5 million viewers on CBS. This is up significantly from the 2 million people who watched the episode the first time it aired on Paramount Network years ago.

Episode 3 aired immediately after Episode 2 on CBS. Viewership dropped slightly between episodes, but it still drew in 4.5 million viewers.

By airing on broadcast TV, more people can watch Yellowstone than ever before. It shows in the ratings that a ton of people are interested in the series!

If you’d like to revisit what’s happened on Yellowstone so far, check out the video below.