Dutton Ranch season one

Following the end of Yellowstone, the spin-off show Dutton Ranch sees Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her husband, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), start a new life in Texas after a fire destroys their old ranch. While they hope for a peaceful, fresh start, they soon find themselves coming to blows with a rival family headed by a cunning matriarch played by Annette Bening. Although Chad Feehan replaces series creator Taylor Sheridan as showrunner, this newest addition to the ever-expanding franchise will be familiar territory for longtime viewers. It evokes the same romanticised imagery of the cowboy lifestyle, where everyone wears ten-gallon hats and drives pick-up trucks, and is brimming with a star-studded cast. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly melodramatic and light on actual plot.

Opening with jaw-dropping shots of Beth and Rip riding through the open countryside, the series instantly captures the modern western aesthetic. The world of Dutton Ranch is one in which characters talk like they’re from old spaghetti westerns and are one wrong look away from starting a fight. While some lines of dialogue are corny enough to elicit an eyeroll, it all serves to create a distinctive sense of place.

A large part of what makes this show work is the committed performances from its cast. Reilly and Hauser are as strong as ever, with Reilly especially getting plenty of time to shine. Finn Little likewise makes a commendable return as Carter, the couple’s surrogate son, who becomes involved with a trouble-causing local girl played by Natalie Alyn Lind. Bening is another standout new addition to the cast. However, it’s Ed Harris who frequently steals the spotlight as down-to-earth vet Everett McKinney.

Despite the cast’s best attempts to bring these characters to life, there’s barely any plot holding the opening episodes together. Rather than creating a cohesive narrative, each episode aims to create as many scandalous moments as possible by moving from one melodramatic scene to the next. Brawls can break out at any moment before returning to something overly sentimental just as quickly. It’s a tonal whiplash that’s in danger of becoming unintentionally comedic.

For better or worse, Dutton Ranch is more Yellowstone. Its sweeping vistas and stellar performances are bound to please returning viewers. However, those who have already struggled to buy into its cowboy soap opera sensibilities are unlikely to find much here to change their minds.