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The wait is almost over for Yellowstone fans. Dutton Ranch, the much-talked-about sequel series built around Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, lands on Paramount+ this Friday, and early reviews suggest the spinoff has a real shot at standing on its own.
Created by Chad Feehan, who previously ran Lawman: Bass Reeves, and executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, the show picks up after the events of Yellowstone Season 5. Beth and Rip have left the chaos of Montana behind, hoping to carve out something resembling a normal life on a 7,000-acre spread in South Texas. Of course, peace is rarely on the menu in the Sheridan-verse, and a powerful neighbor stands ready to make that transition anything but smooth.
Dutton Ranch cast
Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are back in the roles that turned them into fan favorites, with Finn Little also returning as Carter, the young man Beth and Rip took under their wing. The new faces joining them include Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson, the ruthless matriarch of a rival ranching family, along with Ed Harris, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, and Natalie Alyn Lind.
Speaking to Esquire at the New York premiere on Tuesday, Hauser admitted he never expected his character to grow into something this big. He pointed out that Rip was originally written with only a couple of scenes in the Yellowstone pilot, and the rest came down to viewers responding to the character. The fans pushed for more, and the writers listened.
Dutton Ranch episode schedule
Season one runs for nine episodes. The first two drop together on Friday, May 15, with new episodes rolling out weekly through early July. Here is how the release looks:
Episode 1, “The Untold Want” — May 15
Episode 2, “Earn Another Day” — May 15
Episode 3, “Act of God Business” — May 22
Episode 4, “Start with a Bullet” — May 29
Episode 5 — June 5
Episode 6 — June 12
Episode 7 — June 19
Episode 8 — June 26
Episode 9, “El Padrino” — July 3
Who is behind the series
Christina Alexandra Voros directs the opening episodes and the finale, with Greg Yaitanes, Jessica Lowrey, and Phil Abraham handling the rest of the season. Sheridan executive produces alongside Reilly, Hauser, and David Glasser, with Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios on the production side.
What critics are saying
The reviews are mostly positive so far. Dutton Ranch is sitting at 86 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews as of Thursday, with the consensus and audience scores still pending.
Richard Roeper of RogerEbert.com gave it a thumbs up, writing that the show wastes no time getting going and lays out plenty of storylines with serious long-term potential while opening a fresh branch of the Yellowstone family tree. Nick Schager of The Daily Beast called it the most straightforward and satisfying entry in the franchise since the original series.
Michael Ghanem at The Wrap was a bit more measured. He felt the show looks more polished than its predecessor but will need to find its own footing without leaning on Yellowstone nostalgia, though he credited the cast with making a strong case for sticking around. Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter landed in similar territory, suggesting the tangle of storylines connects more often than it misses.
Not every reviewer was won over. John Anderson of the Wall Street Journal was one of just two top critics to give the show a rotten score, complaining that the characters are simply mean and that the meanness gets tiring. Ben Travers at IndieWire was also lukewarm but singled out Ed Harris, who plays a veterinarian named Everett McKinney, as the real highlight. Travers argued that the show needs to give Harris room to do what he does best.
Where to watch
The first two episodes start streaming on Paramount+ at 3 a.m. ET on Friday, May 15. They will also air later that night on Paramount Network at 8 p.m. ET/PT, giving viewers a couple of ways to catch the premiere.
Dutton Ranch is the third Sheridan project to hit screens this year, following the CBS series Marshals in March and the Paramount+ drama The Madison shortly after. Whether this one can hold its own without the Yellowstone backdrop is the big question, and audiences will start finding out in just a few days.
