“Dutton Ranch” has saddled up.
The series, another spinoff of Taylor Sheridan’s ridiculously popular “Yellowstone,” arrives just a few weeks after “Marshals” landed on CBS. But “Dutton Ranch” is more of a true successor to the mainline show, in that it follows two of the most popular characters from the series – Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) – and it maintains a harsher, only-allowed-on-streaming-television tone.
But who else is back from “Yellowstone?” And who is new to the ranch? Read on to find out!
Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton
Beth Dutton is the daughter of John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), whom we followed through most of “Yellowstone” before nasty behind-the-scenes drama led to his character being hastily written off the series before its final season. Beth is tough as nails, the daughter of a rancher who spent her entire life around cowboys. In “Yellowstone,” she was working in finance, always the scariest person in the room. In “Dutton Ranch,” she has mellowed some. She’s still fierce as hell, but she is determined to build a life with her husband (Rip) and her adopted son, Carter (Finn Little). After their homestead in Montana burns down, Beth, Rip and Carter relocate to Texas. But wouldn’t you know it? Trouble follows them, too.
Reilly is an accomplished actress on stage and screen. You’ve probably seen her opposite Denzel Washington in Robert Zemeckis’ “Flight” and in the two Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey Jr. “Sherlock Holmes” movies. She also appeared in the sophomore season of “True Detective” and the underrated Poirot movie “A Haunting in Venice.”
Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler
Rip Wheeler is a devoted cowboy who worked for John Dutton III in “Yellowstone” and served as a kind of surrogate son to the rancher. Tough as nails and willing to do just about anything, Rip was introduced early in the show as an enforcer, one willing to do whatever it takes to keep the secrets of the ranch secret – including but not limited to murdering lots of people. As the show progressed and his relationship with Beth continued to grow, his character softened to the point that he married her and became a (mostly) respectable man. Now his loyalty lies with Beth, Carter and the new Dutton Ranch they’re forging in Texas. But the simple life is about to get complicated.
Hauser is the son of prolific actor and filmmaker Wings Hauser and appeared, early in his career, in Richard Linklater’s masterpiece “Dazed and Confused,” John Singleton’s underrated “Higher Learning” and Gus Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting.” In the years since, he has starred in “Pitch Black,” “2 Fast 2 Furious” (again for Singleton) and “Olympus Has Fallen.” (He starred alongside the legend Bruce Willis in four movies – “Hart’s War,” “Tears of the Sun,” “A Good Day to Die Hard” and “Acts of Violence.” Pretty neat.)
Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson
Beulah Jackson is the big dog in fictional Rio Paloma in South Texas. She runs a local slaughterhouse that all of the ranchers depend on, has deals with area merchants and restaurants, and fattens the pockets of local politicians. She is the alpha and the omega. Beth calls her a “Grizzly in Gucci,” and the two clash when Beulah refuses to slaughter some cows for Beth. (She has long wanted to gain control of the ranch that Beth and Rip purchased.) It seems like there’s going to be a pretty spectacular clash between the two most powerful women in Rio Paloma, sooner rather than later.
Annette Bening is, obviously a legend. She’s been nominated for five Academy Awards – for 1990’s incredible “The Grifters,” 1999’s “American Beauty,” 2004’s “Being Julia,” 2010’s “The Kids Are All Right” and most recently for 2023’s “Nyad,” where she played real-life swimmer Diana Nyad. She has also appeared in “Bugsy” and “Love Affair” (both with her real-life love Warren Beatty), “The American President,” “Mars Attacks” (for Tim Burton, who was meant to direct her as Catwoman in “Batman Returns” until she got pregnant), “Open Range,” “20th Century Woman,” “Captain Marvel” and “Death on the Nile.” Is there anyone better?
Ed Harris as Everett McKinney
Everett McKinney is a local veterinarian who services Rio Paloma’s farm animals and domestic pets. He enters Beth and Rip’s life when Beth attempts to save a mortally wounded horse that was involved in an auto accident (mercifully, the horse was not driving). McKinney saves the horse’s life and becomes a part of the Dutton Ranch’s inner circle. And don’t think that an injured horse is the last calamity McKinney will have to assess on the Dutton Ranch…
Ed Harris is a genuine living legend, having appeared in dozens of projects on the stage and screen. He’s been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in 1995’s “Apollo 13,” 1998’s “The Truman Show” and 2002’s “The Hours,” and has appeared in countless classics like “The Right Stuff,” “The Abyss,” “The Firm,” “Nixon,” “The Rock,” “A History of Violence,” “Snowpiercer” and more recently the A24 thrillers “Love Lies Bleeding” and “How to Make a Killing.” He’s had just as many exceptional roles on television, from appearing on “Lou Grant” in the late 1970’s and continuing through HBO’s prestige sci-fi series “Westworld,” which he was on from 2016 to 2022.
Jai Courtney as Rob-Will
Rob-Will is Beulah’s nogoodnik son who does something very bad in the show’s first episode. (We’ll keep it quiet for now.) In order to keep that very bad thing quiet, he’s sent away to rehab. He’s also Oreana’s father.
Australian actor Jai Courtney has been in “Jack Reacher” with Tom Cruise, “Terminator: Genisys” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and with Margot Robbie in the DC Comics-based “Suicide Squad” and “The Suicide Squad” (for Warner Bros.) More recently, he has appeared in the killer horror movie “Dangerous Animals” and alongside Alan Ritchson in Netflix’s entertaining sci-fi adventure “War Machine.” On television, he has been on “The Terminal List” (on Prime Video), “American Primeval” (on Netflix) and “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (on Starz).
Finn Little as Carter
Carter is Rip and Beth’s adopted son, who goes with his parents to Texas after their homestead in Montana burns down. He’s adjusting to life in Texas well enough, although he isn’t the most popular kid in school (he’s a little older than most). He falls pretty hard for Oreana while also adjusting to living on the ranch. He’ll get there. We hope.
Finn Little has been acting since he was a small child and, in addition to “Yellowstone,” has starred with Nicolas Cage in the psychedelic thriller “The Surfer” and with Angelina Jolie in “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” once again for “Yellowstone” writer/director Taylor Sheridan.
Juan Pablo Raba as Joaquin
Joaquin serves as an adopted son to Beulah and as a fixer for the family. He might wear Armani suits instead of Wranglers, but he certainly still gets his hands dirty, including with Rob-Will’s latest indiscretion (and its immediate aftermath). In some ways, his character is a parallel to Rip’s, who was welcomed into the Dutton family from a young age. Just how villainous Joaquin is – and how much his loyalty can be tested – remains to be seen.
Juan Pablo Raba is a Colombian actor who has appeared on television shows and on telenovelas, in addition to feature films. International audiences will probably best know him from his work on Netflix’s “Narcos,” but he’s also starred in a number of action movies like “Peppermint” (with Jennifer Garner) and “The Marksman” (with Liam Neeson). He also served a stint on Marvel’s “Agents of SHIELD” as one of the Inhumans.
Natalie Alyn Lind as Oreana
Oreana is a hellraising young woman living in Rio Paloma. She’s Beulah’s granddaughter and Rob-Will’s daughter, but she does not fall in line with the family and is constantly squabbling with her kin. She also has a relationship with young Carter, who intervenes while Orena is having a domestic squabble with her boyfriend. Carter, of course, falls for her. But will their relationship be allowed to flourish, or will the complication from their respective families kill their potential love affair for good?
Lind has been acting on television from an early age. You might have seen her on “The Goldbergs” or “Gotham” or “Tell Me a Story” or “Big Sky,” a show that was seemingly greenlit in the wake of “Yellowstone’s” overwhelming success. She also recently appeared in “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines,” a new spin on Stephen King’s classic horror novel.
Marc Menchaca as Zachariah
Zachariah is a tragic cowboy who has recently been released from prison … and promptly hired by Beth and Rip to work on the Dutton Ranch. His past is slowly revealed, and we’re not going to give anything away here. But as an aching portrait of a man trying to make amends (and perhaps failing every step of the way), Zachariah is one of the more fascinating, deeply flawed characters on “Dutton Ranch.”
Marc Menchaca is a consummate character actor pro who gives “that guy” distinction a good name. Early in his career, he appeared in Ron Howard’s “The Alamo” and more recently has co-starred in sci-fi extravaganza “The Creator,” COVID-set horror movie “Sick,” and the Zach Cregger-produced romp “Companion.” On television, you might have seen him on “Homeland,” “Ozark,” “Black Mirror,” “Dexter: Resurrection,” or as one of the scariest characters on television, in Stephen King’s “The Outsider.” It’s giving us the willies just thinking about it.
