You Won’t Believe Who’s Joining the Cast of the ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff

With the success of the Taylor Sheridan universe, it should be no surprise that multiple spinoff series continue to develop. It should also be no surprise that their popularity often grabs the attention of Hollywood stars, too!

Yellowstone had Kevin Costner, Landman has Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore, 1923 has Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren… so it’s almost expected that when more spinoffs are announced, more stars are as well.

That being said, the much-anticipated show following popular Yellowstone characters Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler just announced a new member of the cast: Annette Bening! She will join Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, who will reprise their roles, in the series tentatively called The Dutton Ranch, and it’s the movie star’s first foray into television.

The show will pick up where Yellowstone left off, with Beth and Rip at their new 7,000-acre ranch, along with their adopted son, Carter (Finn Little). While they seek peace and stability, anyone who knows anything about Beth Dutton knows that drama will ensue.

That drama may just come in the form of Bening, who is set to star as Beulah Jackson, a “powerful, cunning and charming head of a major ranch in Texas,” according to Deadline. Powerful, cunning, and charming… hmmm, who does that sound like? Looks like Beth might have a powerful adversary in the competitive ranch world.

But instead of following the ensemble format of Yellowstone or sprawling across multiple seasons like Sheridan’s other spinoffs, Rio Palo is being developed as what insiders suggest could be a standalone story.

That’s a significant departure from Sheridan’s usual approach. From 1883 to 1923 and the ongoing saga of Landman, most of Sheridan’s projects are designed as multi-season commitments or part of a larger interconnected universe. Fans expecting Rio Palo to carry on Yellowstone’s legacy across years may instead get a more limited, self-contained chapter.

Production has landed in Ferris, a small town about 20 miles south of Dallas. In a statement, Ferris City Manager Brooks Williams called it “a proud and fun moment for Ferris,” signaling how much excitement the project has already generated for the local community.

But whether or not Ferris is actually the setting seems less likely. In the final episode of Yellowstone, Rip, Beth and Carter moved to Dillon, Montana. But they’ve always had business down in Texas, so maybe that’s where the action is? It remains to be seen. Moving the Montana show to Texas would be another bold move, though.

The biggest draw here is clear: fans finally get more of Rip and Beth, whose ferocious, complicated love story has been the emotional heart of Yellowstone. But the possibility of Rio Palo being a one-off project, rather than a multi-season epic, is already dividing viewers. Some are welcoming the idea of a focused, tightly told continuation, while others worry it cuts short the future of the Duttons’ most compelling couple.

While not much else is known, the addition of a Golden Globe winner to the cast certainly signals a dramatic future ahead. So saddle up and stay tuned for more as details unfold!