Home » Streaming Flicks » Dutton Ranch

Dutton Ranch

Fans of YELLOWSTONE were (and remain) fiercely loyal to the show. In many ways, it parallels that of the GAME OF THRONES fandom. There were casual fans who tuned in on a weekly basis, but there were also those who were absolutely obsessed. These ravenous viewers soaked in every detail of the visually stunning productions and hung onto every word and twist.

When Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan had their infamous falling out, it resulted in the early demise of YELLOWSTONE. Many fans felt cheated by the abrupt ending and begged for the characters to find life beyond the ranch. For the most part, they got their wish. Casey (Luke Grimes) went on to star in the CBS procedural MARSHALS. The show looked less like YELLOWSTONE and more like the other popular programs in the network’s primetime lineup like FBI and BLUE BLOODS. Meanwhile, over at Paramount Plus, Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) returned for their own spin-off, DUTTON RANCH.

DUTTON RANCH doesn’t feel like a spin-off, so much as an extension of YELLOWSTONE. The whole vibe is nearly identical. The scenery. The music. The cowboys. The melodrama. It’s all there.

After the events of YELLOWSTONE, Ripa and Beth, along with their adopted son, Carter (Finn Little) are looking to make a new life for themselves. They find a beautiful ranch and make it home, but when wildfire strikes, the only thing that they are able to save is one single calf which Rip bravely risks his life for. This happened within the first few minutes of the pilot episode and was unintentionally hilarious in its sincerity. I’ll be honest, I was very concerned at that point. It felt like it was a harbinger of things to come, and a disaster in the making.

Over the ensuing scenes and episodes, DUTTON RANCH found its stride and captured many of the best elements of YELLOWSTONE. It is beautiful to look at and the cast is impeccable. Hauser is given some absurdly cheesy lines to deliver, but his performance is great, wholly embodying a character that seems eerily gentle despite being a stone-cold killer. Beth, meanwhile, is much more bearable this time around. Her character feels less like a man’s fantasy idea of what a strong woman should be, and a little more secure and formidable. The dialogue Reilly was forced to spew in YELLOWSTONE was, for me, consistently one of the worst elements of the show. That’s not to take anything away from her performance, which was consistently fierce, but an indictment on the material provided. This time, while still a bit heavy handed, it has yet to fall into the trap of the worst tendencies from Beth’s initial ride.

The supporting cast is spectacular. Ed Harris is, as usual, a comforting and formidable force as the kind-hearted and well-connected vet (both of the military and animal variety) Everett McKinney. Jai Courtney is delightfully over-the-top as the psychopathic son of ruthless ranch owner Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening). Bening is a great addition here. She is a scene-stealing, magnetic force that does enough to make you think that maybe she is okay, while also knowing deep down that she’s a villain. Together, the cohesive cast and the right mix of drama, violence, and thrills, makes DUTTON RANCH a much more impactful and promising saga than I had originally expected.