Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
Just as the first “Yellowstone” sequel series “Marshals” had to open with a big change from the original show to create a new story – Kayce (Luke Grimes) became a widower – so, too, does “Dutton Ranch” begin with an inciting incident that shakes up the franchise, although its impact on the Dutton homestead in Montana is left nebulous.
There’s a huge fire on the range, which leads Beth (Kelly Reilly), Rip (Cole Hauser) and their quasi-son Carter (Finn Little) to abandon Montana for a new life in Texas. Did the Duttons ’ Montana house get torched? If so, will that fire be addressed or ignored on “Marshals”? It’s all left pretty vague.
“Dutton Ranch” showrunner Chad Feehan, who was fired from the show after production wrapped on its nine-episode first season, needed a way to get Beth and Rip to a new setting and surround them with new characters, and a devastating but imprecisely located fire was the way he chose to do it.
Streaming its first two episodes Friday on Paramount and airing tonight at 8 on cable’s Paramount Network, “Dutton Ranch” has the same “Dallas” on the range vibe as “Yellowstone,” only this time the Duttons are the interlopers in a new location rather than others trying to take the Duttons’ land.
In Rio Paloma, Texas, Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) is a “grizzly in Gucci,” as Beth dubs her, whose family rules the town and influences police department decisions.
Beulah’s two sons vary markedly: Juaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) is a smooth businessman, while Will-Rob (Jai Courtney) is a quick-to-anger problem child whose temper creates a headache for all concerned.
Beth makes friends with elderly vet Everett (Ed Harris), who also has some kind of history with Beulah, even though he reads as “good guy” and Beulah reads as “villain.”
Rip and Beth’s ward, Carter, gets a glow-up. He’s now 19, bearded and eager to bed a new love interest who is as wild as he is mild.
Early plots are both recognizable in their bombast – a murder, of course, and its cover-up – and unusual in their attempts to create drama – the Dutton cattle herd may have been infected with foot and mouth disease!
As “Yellowstone” viewers might expect, the best moments come from personal drama, especially when Beth and Beulah go toe-to-toe over – checks notes – Beulah’s company refusing to slaughter Beth’s cattle.
Bening’s Beulah makes a great addition to the “Yellowstone”-verse. Beulah is a great foil for Beth, but it’s also fun to watch her stew over her own family members’ behavior.
Harris’s Everett also shares scenes with Beth, but he’s able to bring out her softer side.
Through four episodes made available for review, it’s Beth who gets the most scenes with these new characters played by big-name stars (Bening and Harris) while Rip mostly tangles with other characters played by actors who don’t quite command the screen the way Bening and Harris do. That’s probably because of the two lead actors, Reilly consistently delivers the more compelling performance.
It’s unlikely “Dutton Ranch” will make as big a splash as “Yellowstone” did – sequels rarely do – but there’s enough similar storytelling that this show will either satisfy “Yellowstone” fans craving more or bore them to tears because it all seems so familiar.