Yellowstone's Ratings Without Kevin Costner Make One Thing Clear

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Yellowstone."

"Yellowstone" may have taken one of the longest "mid-season" breaks in TV history these past two years, but its hiatus did nothing to dull the enthusiasm of its legions of fans. In fact, absence may have made the hearts of "Yellowstone" viewers grow even fonder; according to Variety and the viewership data source VideoAmp, this week's return episode earned the biggest "premiere" ratings yet for the Western series.

Numbers for the show's Sunday night premiere indicate that 16.4 million people watched the episode, up from season 5's still-impressive 8.8 million viewers. Like most viewership ratings in the streaming era, these numbers don't just pull from one time slot airing, but interestingly, they are sourced entirely from linear TV. 16.4 million people watched the show across more than one showing on CBS and eight cable networks that also played the episode. Given reports from cast and crew that this will be the Taylor Sheridan show's last season, it's not surprising that more people than ever tuned in to check on the Dutton family drama. Be that as it may, these stats also show that the "Yellowstone" universe can still thrive without Kevin Costner's patriarch John Dutton. (Costner infamously departed "Yellowstone" after filming the first half of season 5.)

Of course, the fact that so many people tuned into "Desire is All You Need," the first new "Yellowstone" episode to premiere in 22 months, may also have something to do with Costner's absence. For all the talk of the former series star's exit from the hit project, creator Taylor Sheridan and all others involved have been tight-lipped about how the show would explain away his character's exit. The new episode delivered answers immediately, kicking off with a scene in which two of John Dutton's kids, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Beth (Kelly Reilly), find emergency crews taping off a crime scene. Like evil "Succession" patriarch Logan Roy before him, John died suddenly midway through his show's final season, though this time around, his kids are convinced it was a murder — at the hands of their other sibling, Jamie (Wes Bentley), no less.

Costner's off-season exit essentially acted as a sort of cliffhanger, as fans knew the show would have to address John Dutton's absence somehow. That intrigue isn't the only likely explanation for the show's high viewership, though; between an aggressive advertising campaign, several spinoffs, final season hype, and plenty of time for new fans to catch up on old episodes, the show's stratospheric premiere numbers were a bit of a no-brainer. Will "Yellowstone" sustain its high viewership as the final season continues to unfold? Time will tell, but you can watch new episodes Sundays at 8pm ET on the Paramount Network.