At this point, it's well documented that making Dutton Ranch was really hard. Cole Hauser opened up about the “challenges” they faced while working on the show, and Kelly Reilly spoke about changes that happened without Taylor Sheridan running it. However, despite the Beth actress saying this project was “the hardest thing” she’s “ever done,” she also explained why she cannot wait to start working on Season 2.
While there was some turbulence on the set of Dutton Ranch, and Ed Harris noted his grievances with the show recently, everyone is expected to be back for Season 2. Reilly is excited about that, and she explained that she’s looking forward to moving into a new chapter after getting this Yellowstone spinoff off the ground. Noting that Season 1 was “the hardest thing,” the actress told TV Insider:
We’ve just been talking a little bit in some other interviews about these ideas for Season 2; now we’ve been lucky enough to be green-lit for another season. You never take that for granted ever. I feel like emerging [with] a new season, a spinoff, was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, with all the responsibility of bringing forward everything that was the show that we’d worked on into something new and different for the audience and whether people are going to like it.
I totally get what she’s saying. The Dutton family was well established before Dutton Ranch, and they were challenged with bringing that legacy into a brand new story. However, along with that, there’s been reported behind-the-scenes tension, with one report even claiming that Ed Harris’ complaints allegedly had something to do with the fact that the Yellowstone series lost its first showrunner at the end of Season 1.
So, yeah, this show was no walk in the park. However, with Season 1 under their belts and a Season 2 renewal in hand, the team is excited about what’s next. Speaking to that point, Kelly Reilly said:
And now Season 1 tells me, and has probably told Cole and probably told [director/executive producer] Christina Voros and our producers and Taylor [Sheridan], where we can fine-tune and where we can go. So I think now we’re going to go into our fifth gear, and I’m excited about that. I’m really excited. I feel like the big evolvement happened this season, and now we just get to layer it.
Every new evolution comes with growing pains, and that seems to be what happened with Dutton Ranch during Season 1. While that had to have been hard, and the cast made it clear it was, I’m happy Reilly is optimistic about the future.
As of right now, that future will begin for the cast when they return to set in early 2027 to start filming. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Benjamin Cavell will take over as showrunner following Chad Feehan’s departure. Overall, hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to see how the team grows in Season 2.
Personally, I can’t wait for the next set of episodes, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the stories evolve for Rip, Beth, Carter (who is currently missing), Beulah, Everett, Oreana and Joaquin. For now, though, while we wait for that, you can stream Season 1 of Dutton Ranch with a Paramount+ subscription.
