With Yellowstone on CBS, many fans find something is missing from the western

By Michael Balderston
published

Namely, how CBS is editing the previously cable-only show.

Wes Bentley and Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone
Wes Bentley and Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone (Image credit: Kevin Lynch/Paramount)

After years of being the most-watched show on cable TV, Yellowstone made its debut on network TV, with Yellowstone season 1 episode 1 airing on CBS Sunday, September 17. This allowed many viewers who do not have Paramount Network or Peacock, where all seasons (including the first half of Yellowstone season 5) are streaming, to watch the show for the first time. 

With the ongoing writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood for new labor agreements, CBS plans to air all of season 1 of the Taylor Sheridan western, and perhaps more seasons as well. But fans familiar with the show were curious about something: how would they edit a cable-only show for network TV, especially one where curse words, nudity and sex are pretty common?

An Entertainment Tonight feature said that CBS made some "minor edits" to make the show more "PG." Fans got their first taste of those edits on September 17 and had their reservations.

Yellowstone was never going to be able to air in its original format, as broadcast standards are different from cable. Especially considering the show is going to air during primetime hours, when young kids could still be up and watching. 

The question is whether or not hearing Beth (Kelly Reilly) actually cuss out just about everyone she comes across, as well as the other more adult elements of the story, truly makes a difference in new viewers' enjoyment of the series? Or if they find themselves hooked on the drama of the Dutton family?

The censorship of Yellowstone was not the only minor controversy with CBS's broadcast of the show on September 17. Yellowstone's network premiere was scheduled to air at 8:30 pm ET, but because of how late the NFL games went on CBS, Yellowstone didn't air on the East Coast until 8:50 pm. That meant an all-new episode of Big Brother season 25 didn't air until almost 11 pm for East Coast audiences. Needless to say, reality fans were less than thrilled they were getting bumped for a TV episode that is five years old.

However, not all audiences initially knew that the Yellowstone episode CBS was airing wasn't new. Some viewers had the thought that CBS was going to be airing brand new episodes of Yellowstone, as they've been waiting since January for the second half of Yellowstone season 5 to air. They'll have to wait until after the strikes are over, unfortunately. 

CBS airs Yellowstone season 1 episodes on Sundays. You can also catch up with Yellowstone season 1-5 on Peacock. 

Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.