Taylor Sheridan stepped behind the camera for what could be the final episode of Yellowstone.

The co-creator and writer of the hit Paramount Network series directed the final episode of season five, which airs Sunday. The Hollywood Reporter can reveal exclusively. The sixth and final part of the season is called the special season finale and will air on Paramount Network at 8 p.m.

The December 15 episode will also be supersized, lasting one hour and 26 minutes. Titled “Life is a Promise,” the logline for the ending, written by Sheridan, reads: “The fate of Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is revealed.”

Sheridan, who writes all of the series’ episodes, directed the entire first season Yellowstonewhich started in 2018. Since then, he has directed many episodes of his Sheridan-verse series for Paramount+, including Mayor of Kingstown, Yellowstone Prequel 1883, lioness And CountrymanThe latter is currently broadcasting its first season. He made his debut as a writer/director with his critically acclaimed 2017 film Wind flow.

Executive producer Christina Voros directed the first four episodes YellowstoneIn the show’s 5B season, executive producer Michael Friedman directed the penultimate episode last week, in which Sheridan showed off another hat he wears on the show: acting.

Through YellowstoneSince 2011, Sheridan has been back on screen as Texas horse trainer Travis Wheatley. In last week’s episode, “Give the World Away,” we met Travis at his Texas ranch, which was filmed at Sheridan’s own Bosque Ranch. The real cowboy showed off his riding skills – as well as his strip poker skills, with his girlfriend, played by Bella Hadid. (Sheridan owns two ranches in Texas, including Four Sixes Ranch, another location where… Yellowstone films.)

All roads led to next week’s finale, “Life Is A Promise,” the flagship of the larger series Yellowstone-vers is preparing to – maybe – ride off into the sunset. After a long break between the first half (5A) and the second half (5B) of the fifth season due to the Hollywood strikes in 2023 and the scheduling dispute with star Kevin Costner, which ultimately led to his exit from the show, Paramount Network announced this is known Yellowstone Season 5B would be the final season of the series. Since then, however, fan-favorite stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser – who play Beth Dutton and Rip, respectively – have been in talks to continue the series’ legacy within the series Yellowstone-Verse; with new reports pointing to a spinoff.

Reilly and Hauser have expressed interest in following Sheridan wherever his pen takes them. “In the end we’ll see if they want it,” Reilly said THR earlier this season about how the audience will decide the fate of the show. “Because maybe they just want to wrap it up and finish it, so we’ll see. It has to be authentic.”

After revealing the fate of Costner’s patriarch John Dutton from the start in the Season 5 premiere (here’s how the series handled his exit), YellowstoneThe series’ record-breaking return continued to attract large numbers of viewers right up to the finale.

With the YellowstoneAlthough the mastermind of the ‘verse is stepping behind the camera for the expected conclusion, there’s more at stake as to how the series will end and whether the ending will pave the way for the future.

“I was surprised and didn’t see it coming,” Voros said THR about the finale when I talked about last week’s penultimate episode. “I think the conclusion of every great story is both surprising and inevitable, but you don’t realize it was inevitable until you get there. Looking back, it all makes sense. But looking forward, you would never have seen it coming. That’s the magic place in storytelling and I think Taylor achieved that with the finale.”

No matter what happens in the end, Sheridans Yellowstone-verse continues to move forward with spin-off series The Madisonstarring Michelle Pfeiffer, currently in production and prequel 1923 will return with season two on February 23rd. A second prequel spinoff set in 1944 will follow in the footsteps of 1883 And 1923although details on this series are scarce.

YellowstoneThe Season 5B finale airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on Paramount Network. (Learn how to stream here Yellowstone and here’s a status update on the franchise.)