Dutton Ranch, a sequel series to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, premieres on Friday on Paramount+, and most Rotten Tomatoes critics like what they see so far.
Created by Lawman: Bass Reeves showrunner Chad Feehan and executive produced by Sheridan, Dutton Ranch finds Yellowstone’s Beth Dutton (Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Hauser) trying to build a new future for themselves on a 7,000-acre South Texas ranch along with their ward, Carter (Finn Little). Beth and Rip’s hopes for peaceful transitition, however, are threatened by Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), the powerful matriarch of a ruthless rival ranch.
Dutton Ranch also stars Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, Natalie Alyn Lind and Ed Harris. The series gets underway with a two-episode premiere on Friday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT, followed by new episodes at the same time every Friday through July 3.
During a red carpet premiere for Dutton Ranch Tuesday in New York City, Hauser told Esquire that he never could have imagined he and Reilly would have a series to call their own, considering the original plan for Rip in Yellowstone.
“I only had two scenes in the original script that Taylor [Sheridan] wrote [for Yellowstone], and it just kind of grew,” Hauser told Esquire. “Obviously, the fans have spoken. They love these characters, and it’s a dream come true.”
Dutton Ranch is the third series from Sheridan in 2026, following the release of the CBS neo-Western series Marshals on March 1 and Paramount+ drama The Madison on March 14. Unlike Marshals, which features Yellowstone character Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), The Madison, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell and Beau Garrett, is not a Yellowstone spinoff even though it was created by Sheridan.
As of Thursday, Dutton Ranch has earned an 86% “fresh” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Dutton Ranch’?
Michael Ghanem of The Wrap is among the top critics on RT who gives Dutton Ranch a “fresh” critic score. Ghanem writes in his RT review summary, “Dutton Ranch is definitely more polished, but without being steeped in Yellowstone nostalgia, it’ll need more juice to really get going. Luckily, the promising cast makes a strong case for tuning in.”
Also favoring Dutton Ranch is Richard Roeper of RogerEbert.com, who writes in his “fresh” RT review summary, “It hits the ground running and sets up a half-dozen storylines with long-term potential, while creating a whole new branch of the Yellowstone tree.”
Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter also gives the series a “fresh” score, writing in her RT review summary, “Throw these big personalities (and Rip) together, and Dutton Ranch comes away with a tangle of storylines that land ever slightly more often than not.”
Alluding to Yellowstone in his “fresh” RT review summary, Nick Schager of The Daily Beast notes that Dutton Ranch is “the most straightforward and satisfying franchise entry since the original.”
John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal is only one of two top critics on RT to date who gives Dutton Ranch a “rotten” score. Anderson writes in his RT review summary, “Amid the messaging, there’s no one to like on Dutton Ranch. They’re just mean. It’s surprising how boring that can be.”
In his “rotten” RT review of Dutton Ranch, Ben Travers of IndieWire at least finds a bright spot in Ed Harris, who plays veterinarian Everett McKinney. Travers writes on RT, “Dutton Ranch doesn’t need to be different. In many ways, it was designed to be more of the same. But it does need to do one thing: In a figurative and literal sense, it needs to let Harris sing.”
Episodes 1 and 2 of Dutton Ranch begin streaming on Paramount+ on Friday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.
