Paramount+'s Biggest Franchise Is Back on Top: New U.S. Series Debuts at #1 After Rotten Tomatoes Turnaround

Paramount+ has a funny mix of stuff that actually sets it apart: live sports, a massive sci-fi vault, and now, finally, a Yellowstone win it can point to without gritting its teeth.

How Paramount+ ended up chasing its own hit

Paramount+ is one of the only places you can get major football and soccer games without a cable bundle, which is great. It also has the Star Trek empire all under one roof — classic shows and movies sitting next to the new series — plus big chunks of South Park and Dexter. But the streamer’s crown jewel has always been a little awkward: Yellowstone.

Back when Yellowstone launched in 2018, Paramount made the kind of deal you brag about until it actually works: it sold the streaming rights to Peacock. Then Yellowstone exploded, and none of that streaming heat landed on Paramount+. Since then, the franchise has expanded, giving Paramount+ more of the universe to call its own, with uneven results. That changed this week.

Dutton Ranch shows up — and takes over

The new spinoff Dutton Ranch dropped its first two episodes earlier this week on Paramount+, and it wasted zero time climbing to the top of the platform. Per Flix Patrol, it hit #1 on the service’s TV charts right out of the gate and has stayed there every day since. New episodes land every Friday through the July 4th weekend, so it has a clear runway to camp out in that top slot for a while.

Where Yellowstone left the pieces

The flagship series ended with the Dutton family scattered, their original ranch sold off to the Broken Rock Reservation, and Kevin Costner ’s character literally dead and buried. Beth and Rip were still standing, though, and Dutton Ranch picks up their story from there, moving them into new territory with new problems to solve.

Meanwhile, the other spinoff is lagging

Y: Marshals — the Kayce Dutton series with Luke Grimes — is still on Paramount+, and it even has its season finale coming next week with twelve episodes already up. It’s currently the #2 show on the service, but it’s trailing far behind Dutton Ranch. Part of that is reception: critics have it at 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score is a rough 28%. A lot of the pushback comes from the show playing more like a straightforward procedural instead of Yellowstone’s usual serialized, slow-burn crime drama, which threw some fans.

Reviews say this is the best Yellowstone has felt in years

Dutton Ranch, on the other hand, is built as a true sequel: it carries over big plot threads, relocates the action to fresh parts of the country, and sets up new threats without ditching the tone fans actually signed up for. As of now, it’s sitting at 85% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 80% with audiences — a franchise rebound that’s actually showing up in the charts.

• Dutton Ranch: #1 on Paramount+ TV charts since premiere (Flix Patrol); new episodes every Friday through the July 4th weekend; Rotten Tomatoes 85% critics / 80% audience.
• Y: Marshals: currently #2 on Paramount+; season finale arrives next week; 12 episodes already streaming; Rotten Tomatoes 42% critics / 28% audience.
• Context: Paramount+ carries major football and soccer, the bulk of Star Trek (old and new), plus big South Park and Dexter libraries — but Yellowstone’s streaming rights for the original series went to Peacock back in 2018.

Short version: after years of watching its own mega-franchise thrive somewhere else, Paramount+ finally has the Yellowstone entry people are actually rallying around — and the numbers (and reviews) back it up.