How well did Yellowstone do in its CBS premiere?

“Daybreak” – Academy Award winner Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton, patriarch of a Montana
“Daybreak” – Academy Award winner Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton, patriarch of a Montana

Yellowstone is no stranger to bringing in huge numbers and on Sunday it looked to do just the same in its debut. Due to the ongoing strike Yellowstone and other programs from Paramount Network have transferred over to CBS to fill some time slots in the fall schedule. But just how well did Yellowstone do compared to their first venture on Paramount?

Yellowstone’s premiere in 2018 brought in 2.83 million viewers for Paramount Network. On CBS this past Sunday, the premiere drew 6.5 million for its primetime debut that directly followed the NFL according to Variety. Heavy numbers even with the delayed game. Those are no digits to sneeze at and this Yellowstone move looks genius on CBS’s part. The ratings are a bit under the latest season 5 episode of “A Knife and No Coin” which brought it 8.19 million viewers but we expect those numbers to continue to rise for CBS especially when it’s aired at the correct time. And especially because Yellowstone only gets better and better.

”Daybreak” ended with the tragic deaths of two brothers and John Dutton’s struggles to move past it. Episode 2 of the season is titled “Kill the Messenger” which makes you think it has to be about the Paradise Valley developers. The hardest part for a rancher is trying to keep the land you work so hard to make thrive. John Dutton is no stranger to that. John has already lost one son and is on the verge of losing another thanks to Kayce’s quick actions.

Here's what you can expect from the upcoming second episode:

"The governor’s autopsy report implicated Kayce in Robert’s murder, so John tries to keep the evidence from going public. He convinces federal agents to stay quiet but the county shares the results with with the tribal police. Thomas sees an opportunity to remove the Duttons, and John cremates Lee’s body to destroy evidence. Meanwhile, Kayce discovers dinosaur bones and decides to leave Montana for the Navy. Monica confronts Kayce about Roberts's murder and they find a meth lab. After killing the lone survivor, Kayce joins Thomas in a ritual. On John's orders, Rip kills the medical examiner and burns his lab. "
“Kill the Messenger”

Yellowstone will be back at it this Sunday, Sept. 23, on CBS at 8 PM ET following NFL primetime.