Taylor Sheridan’s Newest Yellowstone Story Is The Exact Opposite Of Kevin Costner’s

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone has always been rooted in one towering, immovable presence: John Dutton III, the iron-willed patriarch played by Kevin Costner. However, the writer’s new addition to the Yellowstone franchise is proving to be the exact opposite of the Costner-led series. Following the end of Yellowstone, Sheridan teased that the universe would continue expanding with both prequels and sequels.

So far, Sheridan’s latest neo-Western, Dutton Ranch, is the only spinoff that is showing that it might be as big as the series that started it all. Focusing on Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly), who are arguably the best characters from Yellowstone, the series serves as a new beginning as the couple moves to the South Texas town of Rio Paloma after a devastating fire engulfed their Montana estate. Dutton Ranch, thankfully, doesn’t attempt to replicate Dutton’s presence. It instead deliberately pivots away from it.

Where Costner’s Yellowstone was about dominance, control, and the burden of inheritance, Dutton Ranch leans into the transformation of its characters who are not trying to preserve a kingdom but redefine what comes after its fall. To do that, Beth struck a deal with Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) in the show’s fifth episode that would help her get her business off the ground following the death of their cattle, which they had to cull due to foot and mouth disease.

The new business deal with 10 Petals ties in with the idea that Beth and Rip are starting their own thing as opposed to the inheritance battle that was the core part of Yellowstone. In addition to their new business venture, Dutton Ranch also takes the time to focus on Carter (Finn Little), whose whereabouts were a mystery at the end of Yellowstone. Like Beth and Rip, Dutton Ranch serves as a turning point for Carter as he starts a new life in Rio Palma, even if he would rather go back to Yellowstone.

Dutton Ranch Has More In Common With Yellowstone’s Prequels Than Yellowstone Itself

Given how wildly popular the Dutton family and the Yellowstone franchise as a whole are, it didn’t come as a surprise that Sheridan aimed to peel back the layers and reveal the events that led to the birth of the Yellowstone ranch. So far, two prequels of Yellowstone have been released: 1883 and 1923. As the first prequel, 1883 serves as an origin story of the infamous ranch. It chronicles the journey of the Dutton family as they leave Tennessee after the Civil War and travel west in search of a new life.

Set 40 years after 1883, 1923 follows a new generation of Duttons who are trying to survive during the Prohibition and Great Depression eras. In both of Sheridan’s prequels, the core point is trying to build something as opposed to fighting over it or tearing it down. For instance, 1883 is about the treacherous journey that led to Yellowstone, and 1923 is about keeping that hard-earned inheritance when so many things are standing in the way.

In that sense, Dutton Ranch has the same ethos as the Yellowstone prequels. Beth and Rip are essentially building a ranch from scratch that might be just as big as the one they left behind. The themes of survival, business, and family are all over the new Yellowstone spinoff in the same way that they were in Sheridan’s prequels. The only difference is that Dutton Ranch, so far at least, doesn’t have the same obstacles as 1923 or 1883.

Prequels are meant to shed light on the beginning of something, so of course, 1923 and 1883 wouldn’t have the same cutthroat world as Yellowstone. Fortunately, Dutton Ranch keeps the best parts of the three Sheridan shows. From 1923 and 1883, the latest Yellowstone spinnoff borrows the themes of new beginnings and the battle to keep a beloved ranch while making Yellowstone‘s two best characters its focus.