Well, it certainly looks like one of the biggest TV shows of the last several years — Paramount’s Yellowstone, everyone’s favorite soapy Western about a Montana ranching dynasty — is going out with a bang. More specifically, by angering a big chunk of the show’s long-devoted fanbase.
The show, which Reelgood’s latest weekly ranking of the hottest TV shows lists as the #1 title this week, has actually earned its lowest Rotten Tomatoes audience score for Season 5, the second half of which debuted on the Paramount Network just days ago. Fans have been generally shredding the show online over its general direction, over the writing, over that big death in the premiere — you name it. “So incredibly boring,” reads a 0.5/5 star review of the show, the audience score for which currently stands at a series-low of 40%.
“Taylor Sheridan is more interested in showcasing his 6666 ranch and talking about things no one is interested in hearing than putting any effort into character and story development. He clearly surrounds himself with ‘Yes Men’ to feed his enormous ego.” Ouch.
Adds another disgruntled Yellowstone viewer on the site: “This was, hands down, our favorite show. Every family member enjoyed it (rare, to say the least). Then, starting in season 4, Sheridan got distracted with his other projects, and we were forced to spend a ton of time watching Jimmy (so uninteresting) hanging out at Taylor’s new ranch (6666). Now Costner is gone and the idea that this ‘fixer’ could have John Dutton killed so easily when so many other ruthless enemies failed is just nonsense. The show changed in season 4 and now, without Costner, it simply isn’t the same.”
Luckily, there’s plenty more content available to stream this week that viewers aren’t trashing or feel has jumped the shark. For example, check out Reelgood’s list of the Top 10 TV shows that topped the service’s latest weekly ranking (for the 7-day period that ended on Nov. 13):
- Yellowstone (The Paramount Network)
- The Diplomat (Netflix)
- The Penguin (HBO/Max)
- Lioness (Paramount+)
- Shrinking (Apple TV+)
- Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
- Agatha All Along (Disney+)
- Matlock (Paramount+)
- Tracker (Paramount+)
- Rivals (Hulu)
Reelgood monitors 20 million viewing decisions each month across every streaming platform in the US, from Apple TV+ to Max, Peacock, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+. Other hit series dominating the ranking this week include Netflix’s The Diplomat (which I’ve argued is one of the best TV shows of 2024), as well as HBO’s crime drama The Penguin, and Apple’s super-feel-good Shrinking, to highlight just a few from the list above.
Looking ahead to next week’s lineup of new TV shows, meanwhile, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Sheridan’s newest drama for Paramount+, Landman, end up on the Reelgood ranking in short order — as well as Netflix series like the Ted Danson-led A Man on the Inside and Arcane: Season 2, Act III. For more about the biggest TV shows coming next week, check out our coverage here.
