On Screen: “Dutton Ranch”
Dutton Ranch
Attention: “Yellowstone” fans: Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser return as indomitable Beth Dutton and her husband Rip Wheeler in the new “Dutton Ranch.”
When a ferocious wildfire destroys their Montana home, Beth and Rip, along with their adoptive son Carter (Finn Little) take off for Rio Paloma in South Texas, just north of the Mexican border.
That’s where they buy a small ranch — 5,000 acres with 175 head of purebred Black Angus cattle — that belonged to the Edwards family.
Almost immediately they encounter a major obstacle: Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), the domineering matriarch of the massive 10 Petal Ranch and her two sons: dutiful Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raha) and disruptive Rob-Will (Jai Courtney).
It seems that when Beulah tried to buy the Edwards property to extend her holdings, the Edwards family wouldn’t sell because they loathed the Jacksons.
And when Beth tries to find a slaughterhouse for six of her top-notch steers, she discovers the only local one is owned by Beulah who dismisses her as a customer, claiming they only take large orders because they work for a cut of the profits.
To help run this new ranch, Rip hires Azul (J.R. Villarreal), who worked for the Edwards, and ex-con Zachariah (Marc Menchaca). Plus, Rip depends on veteran veterinarian Everett McKinney (Ed Harris), particularly after his new $10,000 bull develops foot-and-mouth disease.
FMD is a highly contagious viral illness that affects cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals. Rip notes that FMD was eradicated decades ago but Everett explains, “We’ve got anti-vaxxers running wild. Animals shipping all over.”
Meanwhile, teenage Carter enrolls in the local high school and sees sexy Orleana (Natalie Alyn Lind) being abused by her boyfriend Hoyt (Kyle Dondlinger). Coming to her rescue, it turns out that she’s Rob-Will’s daughter, making her Beulah’s granddaughter … which is bound to cause complications.
Based on Western characters created by Taylor Sheridan, the series is written by showrunner Chad Feeham, who previously worked with Sheridan on “Lawman: Bass Reeves.” So the Dutton family drama continues.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Dutton Ranch” is a Tex-Mex seasoned spinoff 7, streaming weekly on Paramount+.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.