Perhaps the unpopular opinion here is that, while I’ve read every single reason why Taylor Sheridan decided to part ways with Kevin Costner, the Yellowstone franchise has suffered without him. I know that probably sounds like a shock to the system, but the time Kevin Costner spent on the Yellowstone Ranch was some of the best television Sheridan has ever produced. It reminded people there was actually something called the Paramount Network, which I don’t think many people even knew existed at the time. There really wasn’t much of a reason to tune into Paramount Network other than Yellowstone, especially as more and more viewers moved away from linear television. The debut of this new Taylor Sheridan series starring Kevin Costner pulled in huge audiences, and for good reason. I still think it’s the best thing Sheridan has done, even if the original series started to drift a bit toward the end. Now, with prequels and sequels everywhere, the Yellowstone universe has become a bit of a blur. I don’t dislike the prequels, but I wouldn’t rank either of them above the flagship series, and the sequels pale in comparison as well.

Both Marshals and Dutton Ranch premiered over the last calendar year, giving us two very different continuations of the Dutton family. Casey Dutton, played by Luke Grimes, was handed his own spinoff with Marshals on CBS, where he retained very few of the original Yellowstone cast members. The biggest surprise there was the decision to write off his wife Monica between series, killing her off offscreen before the events of Marshals even begin. Dutton Ranch instead picks up with Beth Dutton, played by Kelly Reilly, her husband Rip Wheeler, played by Cole Hauser, and, for all intents and purposes, their adopted son Carter, played by Finn Little. Those three become the core group carrying over from the original series.

Despite the fact that this family has supposedly survived on that land ever since the events of 1883, we’re suddenly told they’ve never really had to deal with the wrath of Mother Nature. At the beginning of the series, tragedy strikes when a devastating storm destroys the Yellowstone Ranch. It’s amazing that after well over a century, this family somehow wasn’t prepared for severe weather, but it serves its real purpose, getting Beth, Rip, and Carter off the Yellowstone property and down to Texas. Apparently Taylor Sheridan didn’t have enough shows set in Texas already, because now Beth and Rip are starting over with the newly established Dutton Ranch. I suppose the idea is to give them a chance to build something that’s entirely their own, free from the baggage of Yellowstone, even though everyone watching knows exactly where they came from. It’s the same approach The Walking Dead has taken with many of its spinoffs, scattering familiar characters around the country as though changing the scenery automatically creates a fresh story. Better Call Saul proved you don’t have to do that. It stayed in the same world as Breaking Bad and became one of the greatest prequel series ever made. Sometimes reinventing the wheel isn’t actually an improvement.

Once in Texas, Beth and Rip begin meeting the locals, including a veterinarian played by Ed Harris and what quickly becomes their primary rival, Beulah, played by Annette Bening. Those are easily the two biggest casting additions, and they clearly feel like Taylor Sheridan’s attempt to help fill the Kevin Costner-sized hole left behind by Yellowstone. Considering the early rumors that Matthew McConaughey was going to inherit this corner of the franchise, Sheridan has obviously been searching for names with enough gravitas to keep audiences invested. He also quietly landed Jai Courtney, coming off his excellent performance in Dangerous Animals, as Rob Will, which has to be one of the strangest character names I’ve heard in quite a while. The problem is you can’t just call him Rob. Everyone insists on calling him “Rob Will” every single time, which just sounds ridiculous.

Yes, his name is Rob Will, joining the grand tradition of people with two first names because apparently their parents couldn’t decide on one, like Markwayne. Rob Will has a brother, Joaquin, and we eventually find out they’re only half brothers. At some point we also meet Rob Will’s daughter, Oriana, who fills the younger cast component Carter obviously needed. Carter finally has someone around his own age, and Oriana steps into that role nicely. Naturally, there’s a little bit of a Romeo and Juliet vibe as these two kids from competing ranches become awkwardly star-crossed. Oriana is a bit of a spoiled bad girl who pulls Carter down a troubled path throughout the season. I wouldn’t call her a villain. I’d say she’s probably what Beth used to be back in the day. In fact, I actually liked the handful of scenes Beth and Oriana shared because there was something about the fire in Oriana that reminded me Beth used to have that same fire. Now she mostly just stands around.

That’s probably the biggest disappointment of Dutton Ranch. I don’t know what happened here. I don’t know if everyone who wrote Beth Dutton on Yellowstone suddenly disappeared and had to be replaced, but whoever is writing her now doesn’t seem to understand what made Beth Dutton so special in the first place. She’s now written like some capable old western woman who somehow also constantly needs a man. On Yellowstone, Beth had absolutely no fear. She’d burn the whole place down if she felt like it. She’d slash your tires, blow up your car, hire somebody to beat you half to death. Whatever crossed her mind, she acted on it. Beth lived compulsively, and she did all of that even while Rip was already in her life. It’s not like marrying Rip somehow turned her into a different person. What changed was Dutton Ranch, a new writers’ room, and people who don’t seem to understand why Kelly Reilly’s performance became one of the defining parts of Yellowstone. For years I thought it was a crime she wasn’t receiving awards attention because she was so magnetic and so vibrant, completely controlling every scene she appeared in. Here, she’s wallpaper.

Meanwhile, Rip, who used to be the quieter, more contemplative character, has suddenly become the action hero. He was always incredibly capable, but now that he’s effectively the lead of the series, he’s given more dialogue, more responsibility, and more opportunities to solve every problem that comes along. I don’t disagree that he should be central to the story because this is very much Beth and Rip’s show. The problem is it’s Beth and Rip’s show. Beth is still supposed to be half of that equation. Instead she’s so quiet that I spent the entire season waiting for somebody to finally push her too far. Every time it seemed like she was about to throw something across the room, shove somebody through a wall, or unleash the Beth Dutton I remembered, she just gave someone a dirty look and walked away. Beth Dutton has become passive in her old age, and that completely changes the dynamic.

I’m sure the defense will be that this is Dutton Ranch, not Yellowstone, and I’m unfairly comparing the two. But I have to compare them. This isn’t some spiritual successor with a few familiar faces. She’s literally playing the exact same character. That makes comparisons completely fair game. I would have followed the Beth Dutton from Yellowstone just about anywhere. If Dutton Ranch had been my introduction to Beth Dutton, though, I don’t think I’d be interested in following her at all.

Taylor Sheridan has built an entire universe around this particular brand of storytelling. It started with Yellowstone, and now there’s this ever-growing collection of shows where everybody is living some version of the cowboy, rancher, or homesteader lifestyle. He’s found his lane, and to his credit he stays in it. That’s why you’ve never seen Taylor Sheridan Presents Sex and the City. He knows exactly who his audience is. But one weakness that’s started creeping into several of these shows is that some of his female characters feel like they’re losing what made them compelling. I almost wonder if all of the best female character writing has been shifted over to Lioness because if Zoe Saldaña’s character ever lost her edge, that series would lose its entire identity. Meanwhile, I can already picture season two of Dutton Ranch with Beth baking pies and doing housework as the character continues shrinking from a raging fire into a tiny spark. That’s the exact opposite of the direction she should be heading.

The structure of Dutton Ranch flows in an interesting way because there isn’t one clearly defined villain throughout the entire season. At first it looks like Rob Will is going to be the primary antagonist after an early confrontation with a minor character immediately establishes him as hot-headed and perfectly willing to kill if necessary. Then he’s suddenly pushed to the sidelines for several episodes, sent away by his mother until the mess he created can be cleaned up. That leaves the series without an obvious villain for a while beyond a handful of dirty looks exchanged between Beulah and Beth. Even that conflict eventually softens once Beulah realizes the cattle Beth and Rip were counting on turn out to have a disease that makes them unusable for meat. Instead of continuing the rivalry, she realizes Rip would be an incredible asset on her ranch while Beth’s experience running Yellowstone could benefit her operation as well. These strange bedfellows eventually find common ground, and the conflict shifts elsewhere.

That eventually becomes Carter’s story. He’s getting himself into more and more trouble after being forced back into school, although I honestly don’t understand why he’s forced to attend in the first place. The series specifically establishes that Carter is 19 years old. Once you’re an adult, nobody can force you to go to school anymore. Truancy laws don’t really apply once you’ve reached the age where you can legally drop out. Meanwhile, Ed Harris shows up consistently as Everett, serving as the wise old mentor who almost never creates conflict but instead helps resolve it. Joaquin, meanwhile, desperately wants to escape living in Rob Will’s shadow. He feels like he’s earned his place through hard work, but he’ll always come second to Beulah’s quick-tempered biological son, no matter how often Rob Will proves he doesn’t deserve that loyalty. By the end of the season we discover there are even darker forces at work behind the scenes, leading to an explosive finale where at least one major character doesn’t make it out alive.

Another thing I appreciated was seeing Dutton Ranch actually become a ranch. Rip begins assembling his own crew, bringing in Zachariah and Azul to help work the property. One of the greatest strengths of Yellowstone was always the collection of cowboys that made the ranch feel alive, so watching Rip slowly build his own version of that family feels like a natural progression. Hopefully season two adds another hand or two, maybe even somebody longtime Yellowstone fans already know. Carter is certainly looking for a purpose, and the series is gradually putting the pieces in place. Dutton Ranch is trying to recreate the same foundation Yellowstone built. It just isn’t doing it quite as effectively because Taylor Sheridan was completely focused on one series back then. Now he’s juggling what feels like ten of them at once while basically giving people a reason to keep subscribing to Paramount+. Honestly, I’d be curious how many subscribers Paramount+ would lose if every Taylor Sheridan series suddenly disappeared from the service. I have a feeling it would be a pretty significant number.

Performance-wise, it’s hard to argue this represents the best work Ed Harris or Annette Bening have ever done because, well, have you seen their resumes? They’re both exactly as dependable as you’d expect, bringing the same level of professionalism they’ve always brought to their careers. The bigger surprise for me was Jai Courtney. Between Dangerous Animals last year and now Dutton Ranch, I’m finding myself more impressed with his work than I ever was earlier in his career. For a long time he felt like someone Hollywood desperately wanted to turn into its next leading man, but the material never quite came together. Now it feels like he’s finally developed the dramatic chops people expected him to have all those years ago. Ironically, he may actually be ready for that moment now.

The audio description is provided by Media Access Group, which seems to handle just about every Taylor Sheridan series on Paramount+, and once again they deliver an excellent track. I really don’t have any complaints there. The issues I had with the season almost always came from the writing rather than anything involving accessibility. For example, the finale revolves around Carter being absent from the final confrontation while Beth spends what feels like forever driving all over Texas trying to find him. The strange part is that Oriana has no trouble figuring out exactly where he is, while Beth and Rip somehow never think to check the obvious location. Then, despite Carter being completely removed from the main conflict, the cliffhanger somehow has the villains locating him in a place they should have absolutely no way of knowing about unless they’d been secretly following his storyline all season. It felt a little contrived, although certainly not the silliest thing this franchise has ever asked me to accept.

When is Beth going to grab somebody by the hair and drag them out onto the driveway like she had no problem doing on Yellowstone? Where is that woman? Where is the Beth Dutton who had no problem kicking Summer Higgins’ ass? If that Beth Dutton comes back, I think a lot of Yellowstone fans will too. Not that Dutton Ranch is struggling to find an audience, because it clearly isn’t, but I do wonder how many viewers see it as an inferior alternative to the classic series they originally fell in love with. Dutton Ranch may not be quite the show Yellowstone was, but there’s still a lot to work with here. As uneven as the first season can occasionally be, I see far more promise than danger moving forward. The cast is talented, and with most of them seemingly returning for season two, the foundation is certainly there. But a big part of whether this series reaches its potential is going to depend on taking the leash off Beth Dutton. Kelly Reilly is a phenomenal actress. Let her do what made Beth Dutton one of the most unforgettable television characters of the last decade. That’s why we tuned in in the first place.

Fresh: 7.4/10