Dutton Ranch premiered and collectively blew its fan base (and even Rotten Tomatoes critics) away. The two-hour, double-episode premiere gave viewers a solid introduction to Beth, Rip, and Carter’s new lives in South Texas, and just like Yellowstone, it only left them craving even more. As we settle back into the familiar cycle of yearning for weekly episode drops, we thought hearing from the cast might help weather the anticipation. While the actors aren’t allowed to reveal what’s to come in the series, they were happy to chat with Country Living about what it’s like on set. Keep reading for a behind-the-scenes perspective on bringing Dutton Ranch to life.
What's It Like on the Dutton Ranch Set?
While much of the Dutton Ranch cast and crew is new to the Yellowstone universe, there are plenty of mainstays, too, including director, producer, and cinematographer Christina Alexandra Voros, who got her start as a B-camera operator on Yellowstone before landing directing roles with 1883 and Dutton Ranch, not to mention other Taylor Sheridan shows, including The Madison and the forthcoming Tulsa King spinoff, Frisco King. To her, working on the Dutton Ranch set feels like a continuum.
“Taylor has this uncanny knack of sort of pushing people into the deep end—sometimes, before they even know that they're ready,” she reveals. “I don't think I could have done 1883 before I'd done several seasons of Yellowstone; I don't think I could have done The Madison before I did 1883; and I'm doing Frisco King now—I don't think I could have done that without everything that has come before it. And so, it feels like a really natural progression where you're building on what you learn from show to show.”
Beyond the growth associated with working on set, Christina has nothing but gratitude for the people she’s been able to physically and presently share the space and experience with. “I have to pinch myself when I look at the actors I've had the opportunity to share a sunrise with on a cold, autumn morning, watching the mist come off a field out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of horses,” she shares. “It's a pretty wild job that I have been gifted by Taylor, and I think the similarity across all the shows is that you have these actors who show up and are willing to give 110 percent of themselves. Our sets tend to be really beautiful, caring places; we're doing these big, dramatic, violent, powerful scenes, but people really care for each other, and the family of filmmakers that have been behind these stories has been working with Taylor for a very long time. So, it's not just the lessons learned from show to show that are building on each other, but we are, as a group of artists who are telling stories on television. It's like the Wizard of Oz; you pick somebody up, and you keep on going, and we have a really wonderful family of people who make this big, ambitious style of storytelling doable.”
On that note, considering just how monumental the Yellowstone universe has become, you might think that the Dutton Ranch set could be daunting, but Finn Little, who plays Carter, reveals that it’s the opposite. “It's fun; it's awesome; it's the best job in the world,” the 19-year-old actor exclaims. “I don't really ever feel a feeling of pressure or ego or anything else from anyone else on set. It's a great time.”
Finn’s onscreen love interest, Natalie Alyn Lind, who plays Oreana Jackson, agrees. “It's one of the only shows I've been on where I get really sad when I'm not working during the day,” she shares. “When I have a couple of days off at a time, I'm like, ‘Oh, what am I gonna do? I want to go back to set.’”
Meanwhile, Marc Menchaca, who plays Rip’s recently released ex-con, God-fearing ranch hand, can’t get over how lucky he feels to be working as a cowboy in Texas, something that rings true to his real life. “The excitement for me with this project is that I'm from Texas, and when I was growing up, I wanted to be a rodeo cowboy, so getting to do this [is a dream],” he tells Country Living. “My days off were [spent] just riding and roping with the cowboys we were working with, and then on set, we rode a lot—we just got to be Texans for a while, which was good.”
Of course, the requirement to be around horses on set wasn’t a dream come true for all involved. As with many Taylor Sheridan Yellowstone universe shows, some Dutton Ranch actors had to be introduced to the world of equestrianism. “It was a completely new experience for me—I had never been to Texas, and I am terrified of horses—I really, really am, by the way,” Juan Pablo Raba, who plays Joaquin Jackson, admits. “Actually, I was terrified until last year: I had to do a movie where I rode a horse, so I had to learn how to ride a horse without feeling like I was going to die.”
In addition to giving him the space to further overcome his fear of horses, the Dutton Ranch set also gave Juan the chance to work with Christina, someone he’s come to admire. “Christina Alexandra Voros was awesome to work with because she's got this very interesting mix of toughness and getting things done, and also this sensibility—she loves to work with the nuance and the characters, and their arc, so, I loved that very interesting, subtle mix of talents she has,” he says.
New episodes of Dutton Ranch premiere Fridays on Paramount+.
