So my biggest worry going into this new spin-off was whether it would work without Sheridan gripping the script-writing reins as tightly as he did on the original series. When cooked up by other writers, what are the chances the yellow rock of Dutton Ranch is on the same level of TV crack as Sheridan’s Yellowstone OG white rock? It only takes less than five minutes to find out the chances are excellent, as the thin plume of smoke that the devil lives in rises immediately as everything ignites. Chad Feehan has written the perfect opening episode, one for the record books for rapid habit-forming. The first blast is an endorphin-soaked ride through the Montana wonderland that audiences thrived in during the run of Yellowstone. Then, when it all disappears into thin air, the viewer will go through Hell and high water to get it back. I keep telling myself I could stop watching at any time, yet I still binged them all at once. This show had my eyes drooling for more.
Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in Dutton Ranch, episode 1, season 1, streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/Paramount+.
“Chad Feehan has written the perfect opening episode, one for the record books for rapid habit-forming.”
This is how you do television: it immerses the audience in a lunar womb of dreams fulfilled, then attacks that tranquility with space invaders non-stop. There are plenty of places for viewers’ imaginations to roost in the new Texas setting. The Split Heart Bar in town is one of those perfect TV honky-tonks you love to visit when you close your eyes at work. Because of the handful of s**t everyone is handed, you immediately sympathize and root for your leads. Reilly gets you feeling for Beth right away, as you can feel the dream being ripped right out of her. Hauser, Mr. Eyeball himself, does a phenomenal job emoting through a granite wall of gruffness, revealing the mountain of talent that was always on the horizon. Any acting praise goes triple for Little, whose rendition of an awkward walk through a teenage wasteland is as authentic as a pair of busted-up Wranglers. The big bads are high caliber as well, with Courtney’s dark performance of “this is your cowboy on drugs” running over everything like a Texas flood. Bening is detestable in the most charming way, just like that Texas aunt who always kept ruining everything. Harris is a bit of a mystery, as his too pure to be pink front gives me suspicions.
The only other cowboy boot I am waiting to drop is waiting for Beth and Rip to finally uncoil and strike. The reason why a show about Beth and Rip is so exciting, according to Dalton, my budtender at JARS dispensary in East Tucson, is that they were the closest thing to chaos agents on the first show. They are monsters, like Mr. and Mrs. Dracula, as they love each other, but are capable of unspeakable acts in order to protect what is theirs. So while it is fun to feel sorry for what they go through as these two try to find peace, it is more fun seeing them get evil on mother f*****s who deserve it. So far, we have seen Rip give out one whupping and Beth do her corporate shark bit a little. Hopefully, everything is building up to the Jacksons getting a Johnny Firecloud level of bloody revenge from our favorite pair. Beth is the finest angel of destruction flying today, and it would be great to see her wreak havoc again. I will be sticking around to see how it plays, as I am liking Dutton Ranch just as much as Yellowstone. I may even like it a little more. We will see how hard the upcoming slaps land.
"…is on same level of TV crack as Sheridan's Yellowstone OG white rock..."
