Taylor Sheridan Replacing Beth & Rip Sets Up Dutton Ranch For An Unusual Success

Published Sep 6, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT

Created by Chad Feehan, Dutton Ranch serves as a spin-off/ sequel to Yellowstone. It is the fifth installment in the overarching Yellowstone franchise and features Kelly Reilly's Beth and Cole Hauser's Rip as its leads. The show debuted to optimistic reviews from viewers and critics and boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%.

Just two months after its premiere, it was also renewed for another season, which will reportedly have Benjamin Cavell as its showrunner. Interestingly, though, Dutton Ranch is seemingly embracing a new narrative direction in season 2 instead of repeating season 1's approach. In more ways than one, this new approach will likely benefit the series.

Dutton Ranch Season 2 Will Make Harris' Everett McKinney As Its New Lead

Towards the ending moments of Dutton Ranch season 1, Ed Harris' Everett McKinney gets a much bigger role. This raised many questions about the significance of his character in the upcoming season. When asked about Harris' part in season 2, Kelly Reilly revealed that Dutton Ranch will feel less like "the Beth and Rip show" and "very much more [like] Ed's show."

This is an intriguing development because Everett did not exactly come off as one of the leads in the series in its opening story beats. He was portrayed more as a recurring character who only showed up to help Beth rehabilitate one of her injured horses. As the season progressed, however, his significance grew in the overarching story as he became as relevant as the other leads: Beth, Rip, Carter and Beulah.

Now that it has been established that Everett will have a more significant part in Dutton Ranch season 2, one can foresee how he could further help Beth and Rip after Carter's kidnapping. Even Beulah will likely need his support after the death of Jai Courtney's Rob-Will​​​​​​​. With so many story threads already tied to Ed Harris' Everett McKinney after season 1, it makes sense that he will primarily lead Dutton Ranch season 2.

Changing Dutton Ranch's Lead For Season 2 Sets A New Kind Of Success For Taylor Sheridan

​​​​​​​By switching leads in season 2, Dutton Ranch is seemingly taking a big risk. Viewers who grew invested in Rip and Beth's story and hoped to see more of them as the main characters could feel alienated by the newly established shift in the story. At the same time, though, the show's focus on Everett could give the entire franchise a refreshing direction.

Instead of repeating the same story beats, Dutton Ranch can now have a quasi-anthology feel. With each new installment, it could embrace the same approach as season 2 and focus on a whole new character rather than following a linear storytelling structure. If this approach eventually works out well, future installments of the Yellowstone franchise could also tread the same path.

Given how Dutton Ranch season 1 has left enough room for many stories to unfold around Everett's characterization, it seems likely that season 2 will turn out to be as good as season 2 (if not better). This already seems to pave the way for the series to continue experimenting with new protagonists in future seasons and shed new light on the unexplored corners of the Dutton legacy.