One of the biggest shows of the decade is available to watch in Ireland

Simon Kelly

Succession, but everybody has cowboy hats.

One of the biggest shows of the decade, Yellowstone, has been making waves across the water in the US for years, and it’s available to watch for free in Ireland.

All five seasons of the popular show are available to watch on RTÉ Player and, while the series is currently in a mid-season break, with the final part of season five airing in November, it’s the perfect time to catch up.

While it may not be a household name, Yellowstone was the most-watched show for the 22-23 season in the States, and has gone under the radar due to its mostly offline, older audience. It’s also produced a few spinoffs including 1883 and 1923, and there’s more on the way.

One of the biggest shows of the decade is available to watch in Ireland

If you’re not up to date on the absolute obsession with Yellowstone, the best way to describe it is “Succession on a ranch”, as it follows very similar threads to the HBO behemoth, with family and legacy being the standout themes.

The story centres on the wealthy Dutton family, who own a Montana ranch (the largest in the US) and must protect it by any means necessary from outside threats coming in the form of developers, the government and Native Americans.

The Dutton family is fronted by omniscient patriarch John (Kevin Costner) and his four in-fighting children including Lee, the heir-apparent, Jamie, who is constantly trying to prove himself, Beth, the smart and ruthless sister, and the all-but-estranged sibling Kayce. See – we told you it was like Succession.

Over its five seasons on air since it first arrived in 2018, Yellowstone has been smashing viewing records in the US, with the season premiere of season five garnering 12.1 million viewers. To put that in context, the series finale of Succession drew 2.9 million, so it’s kind of a big deal.

While the show has been called a red state favourite and has garnered quite a conservative viewership, the creator of the show, Taylor Sheridan, disputes that and it’s also been praised for being one of the few shows to cross the massive political divide in America.

There’s a whole debate about how the show is “anti-woke” too, but that’s a whole different story that we’re absolutely not getting into.

While we wait for part two of the final season in November, you can catch up on all previous seasons, which are available to stream on the RTÉ Player in Ireland, as well as Paramount+ if you so prefer.