Dutton Ranch - Season 1 - Review & Recap (Paramount+)

⚠️ Spoiler Alert: This review may contains spoilers. ⚠️

Taylor Sheridan Pulls the Rug Out From Under Us Again

If you've spent years with the Dutton family, Dutton Ranch initially feels exactly like the continuation you'd expect. Montana is no longer viable, so the last of the Duttons decide to move south to Texas. Granted, a raging fire destroys everything left of the Yellowstone Ranch, so the decision to leave those memories, good and bad, was not as difficult as you'd think. They make headway in re-starting ranch life in Texas. This is where things seemed to be situation normal, just in a different state.

To be honest, I was worried when I first started watching. I had started watching the other Yellowstone spinoff, Marshals, and was not impressed. It's not that it is bad. I was disappointed they turned one of my favorite characters, Kayce Dutton, into a focal point of a procedural show. It gave me vibes of NCIS or Law & Order. Again, nothing wrong with that. It's just not what I loved about Yellowstone. And it's not something I'm going to jump at when deciding what to watch.

Beth Dutton is still the sharpest, most ruthless force of nature on television, delivering insults and intimidation with the kind of confidence only Kelly Reilly can bring. Rip Wheeler remains the ultimate loyal cowboy, quiet, intimidating, and somehow still the emotional center of the entire franchise thanks to Cole Hauser's effortlessly commanding performance. Watching these two together is reason enough to tune in.

But what really surprised me was how quickly the series stops being the show you expect. Granted, the first several episodes are life on the new ranch, but once it pivots, it goes off the rails!

The opening sets up what feels like a familiar path, only for the story to take a hard right turn that completely changes the trajectory of the season. From that point on, Dutton Ranch becomes a series of escalating twists that kept catching me off guard. Every time I thought I knew where things were headed, Taylor Sheridan found another way to flip the script without it feeling forced. That's not easy to pull off, especially in a franchise this established.

The newcomers fit in beautifully. Annette Bening plays matriach Beulah Jackson. She runs the powerful family business the 10 Petal Ranch. This brings immediate friction and competition for Beth and Rip's newest endeavor. Bening brings an incredible presence to every scene she's in, adding intelligence, authority, and layers that make her character instantly compelling. Ed Harris is, well... Ed Harris. He plays veterinarian Everett McKinney who immediately befriends the Montana transplants because, well, he's just a really good guy. Harris has never met a role he couldn't elevate, and he brings the perfect amount of gravitas and unpredictability to the series.

Then there are Jai Courtney, Juan Pablo Raba, and Josh Stewart whose inclusion honestly felt a little unexpected at first. They're not the actors I would have immediately pictured in the Yellowstone universe, but somehow they work remarkably well. Their characters introduce a different energy that expands the world without making it feel disconnected from what longtime fans love. I do get the motivation and drama with Courtney's Rob-Will and Raba's Joaquin as they are brothers (not by blood, but by promises), but I'm not so sure of Stewart's Sheriff Handy. He has yet to establish his characters, which seems to be somewhat all over the place in this first season. He's definitely hamstrung by the power of the Jackson family, but he also makes some odd decisions and stands throughout that led me to believe there is more going on with him.

I also loved the addition of ranch hands Azul (J.R. Villarreal) and Zachariah (Marc Menchaca). They quickly become loyal to the Duttons because Rip is the coolest badass cowboy. They each have their own backstory, especially Zachariah, that only adds to the drama that always seems to surround the Duttons. But it's not drama for drama's sake, it's real humanity that adds depth to each of the characters and their relationships.

The one character I found annoying though is Oreana. She plays constant tease to Carter (Finn Little), another carry over from Yellowstone. Actually, Carter is pretty annoying too. To be fair, they are meant to be this way in my opinion. Natalie Alyn Lind plays Oreana. I did not recognize her at all until I looked her up. I was shocked to see I knew her work quite well. I was extremely fond of her characters in the X-Men television show The Gifted and of course as Adam's crush on The Goldbergs. In Dutton Ranch, her role as annoying siren seems very one dimensional and lacking the typical nuance that Taylor Sheridan is known for. BUT, I have full faith in his ability to develop stories that showcase her hiding a deeper motivation as the youngest generation in the Jackson family.

As for Carter, dear lord dude. Beth and Rip have taken you in and given you a good life. Stop sulking and cowboy up dude!

The biggest compliment I can give Dutton Ranch is that it refuses to become comfortable. It could have easily coasted on familiar characters and established relationships, but instead it constantly finds new ways to surprise its audience while staying true to the DNA of the franchise.

And then... the season finale.

I know I warned against spoilers, but I'm not giving this one away. Let's just say, the show finishes its first season quite a ways away from where it started. It's one of those cliffhangers that immediately makes you groan, not because it's bad, but because now we have to wait. There are so many questions left hanging that the finale practically dares you not to spend the next several months theorizing about what's coming next. It's frustrating in the absolute best way possible. It's also exactly what we came to expect from Yellowstone. Maddening? Perhaps. But it's the best sign that we just want more.

Dutton Ranch proves there are still plenty of stories worth telling in this universe. Between the continued brilliance of Beth and Rip, the outstanding additions to the cast, and a storyline that keeps zigging whenever you expect it to zag, this is another winner for Taylor Sheridan.

If you haven't jumped on board with this latest spinoff, you need to as soon as possible.

Now if Paramount+ could hurry up with the next season... that'd be great.

Check out the trailer below: