Dear oh dear... things aren't going well for Dutton Ranch season 2, are they?
After that explosive Ed Harris interview, we know that filming for new episodes isn't supposed to start until February 2027, but the writers room appears to be fully underway as of August 2026.
Thanks to a new report from the Daily Mail, a slew of new dramatic allegations are supposedly threatening the "mess of a show" behind the scenes, with an insider claiming "there is high drama on that one, so much tension.
"I believe it's the actors that are a huge part of the problem," they add. "Too many people think they are in control over there and that's causing a lot of issues."
Alongside Harris feeling "p*ssed off" with his lack of screen time, Annette Bening's "star power" has also allegedly caused friction behind-the-scenes.
But none of this is what I'm most interested in. Since before Dutton Ranch even premiered, I've been publicly campaigning for Taylor Sheridan to shift his role from executive producer to showrunner (much like what we saw with Yellowstone).
While there's been a confirmed positive step in a similar direction, the newly announced showrunner, Benjamin Cavell, opens up an entirely new can of worms.
Benjamin Cavell as Dutton Ranch season 2 showrunner could turn it from Yellowstone to Lioness
According to this same report, Sheridan is set to have a "bigger presence" in the Dutton Ranch season 2 writers room, which is music to my ears. In order for Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip's (Cole Hauser) new start in Texas to be the best it can be, it needs the biggest amount of Sheridan input possible, so this can only be a good thing.
However, the announcement of Benjamin Cavell as the season 2 showrunner might be a cause for concern. Whereas previous showrunner Chad Feehan had Western experience after leading Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Cavell comes from a more military TV background.
With Homeland, SEAL Team, and Justified all under his belt, I wonder if Cavell would be better suited to the Lioness and Tulsa King branch of Sheridan's work. There's no question that he has an exceptional handle on action, and thanks to the miniseries The Stand, we also know that he understands the Paramount+ audience.
But with the Yellowstone world comes such a specific feel and almost a decade of lore attached, and introducing a total newbie at this stage in the game could be a make-or-break moment for Dutton Ranch's future.
As someone who fell head over heels for the spinoff, I'm willing things to work. But even while we have no idea how much truth there really is to these alleged reports, the fact that they exist at all doesn't fill me with confidence.
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